


That Moment When You're a Background Character in Your Own Story

by idkwatoputhere



Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Police, Angst, Animal Death, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Little Shit, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Sweetheart, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders-centric, BTW, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Is Very Nice, Kidnapping, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, No Incest, Private Investigators, Revenge, Slow Burn, Torture, Virgil is a big short, Virgil is best boi in this, Virgil is the irrelivent barista that is at the coffee shop when the main characters go there, Why is Virgil so sweet?, but he is the main character, guys i got fanart, im gonna cry, janus is a tall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 24,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idkwatoputhere/pseuds/idkwatoputhere
Summary: Virgil works at a very nice cafe, and he experiences some strange things, but the thing is, none of these things ever include him, like, ever, he is just kinda there to watch the ride, not that he is complaining.haha that changed, sweet naive me thinking that i was gonna keep this fluffy. Ha
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Everyone, Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Dark Creativity | Remus/Deceit/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, DRLAMP, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders
Comments: 698
Kudos: 424





	1. Prologue

Virgil worked at a coffee shop. Typical, I know, but he likes it. He gets to people watch, and he very much enjoys it. He likes seeing little pieces of other people’s stories playing out in his little cafe. Well, not his exactly, but he works there the most out of all the employee’s and may get a promotion and become manager.  
**(no joke had to ask my dad what a “job upgrade” was called to find the word promotion ;-;)**

The lives of some of the patrons were crazy, like, they’d be chilling in the cafe, and then get called to go undercover for the government or some shit. That may be an over exaggeration, but still, they’d be chilling, and then get a phone call and run out like they had just received a secret mission.

Others would go to the cafe in groups, and talk loudly about ‘Veronica’s fourth wedding’ and ‘I wonder if Brian is going to _mysteriously go missing_ as well.’ Or one of them would get a text and stand up and slap another. Virgil had seen people come out to their friends, which he always enjoyed, and sometimes would write them a message of support on their cups, seen people get together. He had even been asked to help someone propose in the little cafe, all in all, it was a lot less boring then he may lead on.

The only boring thing in that cafe was him. His life was literally the most uneventful thing ever. He had almost no friends, and never saw the ones he had, lived alone with his cat, @. Yes, his cat is named the symbol @. She was adopted from an abusive household, not purposely abusive, but one of the children there didn’t know how to be gentle, so she was re-homed, and the oldest child there thought it would be funny to name a cat the at symbol, so that was that. His mom died of cancer when he was fairly young, he had no siblings, and his dad was living with his uncle.

He couldn’t really complain about his mundane life, though, because it wasn’t like he ever tried to do anything about it. He wasn’t very attractive(sure honey), and had an anti social demeanor, so he wasn’t asked out all that much, never asked anyone out, didn’t go and try to make new friends, didn’t have very many hobbies, other than drawing on the coffee cups at the cafe, because what else would he do? He wasn’t all that good at drawing(lie), and wasn’t really trying to improve, the ‘drawings’ were really just doodles. Sometimes it made the customers happy to see the little doodles on the cups, and sometimes they didn’t care.

The only not mundane thing about Virgil was his emo style, his hair color, and the fact that he was openly gay.

Virgil, like any barista, had his favorite customers. There was a blind lady, Mecan, who came in on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays with her seeing eye dog, Mocoa. He had come into the habit of having dog treats for her when she came in, which she was grateful for, which made Virgil happy. 

There was a coffee addict, Remy, who came in with a new order every day, but none of them were overly complicated, and they were fun to make. He would gossip over the counter if there wasn’t a lie, he liked to hear about his crazy parties that sounded like mistakes waiting to happen. 

There was a preteen girl who would come in on Wednesday afternoon ordering nothing but a chocolate muffin and sketched in the back of the cafe. Virgil never caught her name, but he didn’t really mind, and he wasn’t going to pry, she would give him some of her sketches sometimes, and, with her permission, and a promise to keep her confidential, plus the permission of his boss, would hang them up on the wall in fancy frames. He loved the way her face lit up when she saw her drawings hung up on the wall.

There was a non-binary individual, Caz, who would come in with their young daughter, Cait, and get a black coffee with a pastry of some sort for Cait on Sundays. He would keep paper and markers for them, and would hang up the drawings of the young lady on the fridge, something he ended up doing for all little children that decided to draw.

There was a therapist, Emile, who would pop in every once in a while, and order the special of the day and a chocolate cookie, they would make a small amount of small talk, and then he would leave. He was rambling about a certain coffee addict he knew as of late.

There were also interesting people who came in once and never came back, or just started coming, too. A man came in and shot a short video, with permission. He asked random people to participate, and would get people to do random things. It apparently went viral for a little, but the cafe was kept confidential due to the request of his boss. He couldn’t remember his name.

There was a couple coming in as of recent who had a new hair color every week, they were wigs, but who’s gonna judge, and asked for food coloring to be added to their drinks.

There was a person who used to come in every now and again who would talk to Virgil about their journey to a recovery from leukemia. They always had a bright outlook on everything, and Virgil celebrated with them the day that they came in and reported cancer free, and paid for their drink. They moved away, but he will always remember them.

Then there was the group of investigators who would come in on Thursdays every week, order, pay no mind to Virgil, and talk about some of their cases, nothing that would be bad to talk about in public, but they were interesting nonetheless. Thursdays before the group came in were always boring, and Virgil had almost decided to maybe drop the day, but he was glad that he didn’t. The group was 5 men. Patton, the sweetheart, Logan, the intelligent, Roman, the basically prince, Janus, the smooth, and Remus, the… interesting. Yes, he gave them special names, but they were the only interesting people who came in on Thursdays.

He would sit behind the counter and listen to them talk while doodling. They never tried to make small talk with him, but he didn’t mind. Some days he would hear about solved thefts, or kidnappings, or even murders, and some days he would hear about weird things that people found, or things being stolen. It went from the most boring day of the week to one of his favorites.

The only consistent thing about their visits was that they always ignored him, that they always came in a group, and they always came on Thursday, until one of them showed up on a slow Monday morning and started chatting with Virgil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, this isn't gonna go how you may expect.


	2. Sorry guys

So, normally when I make authors notes, I put them in bold, but i really dont have it in me to do that rn. If you were unaware, about three weeks ago, while i was in the process of writing another of my books, the charger for my laptop broke, and my laptop holds all of my drafts, and idea's, so i had to stop updating. I got a new charger about a week later, and was able to finish the story and move on to the three i am working on now, but... disaster struck at some point last night. My brand new charger, which i got less than 2 weeks ago, stopped working at some point last night. We have reason to believe that the place where i had it plugged in went wonko and fried the charger, so when I get a new one, it will be moved. I can charge the thing on my mothers computer's charger, but that is going to be very limited to me, and so i have no idea when i will be able to update any of my stories, or work on anything at all, i have a crappy chrome book that i may be able to update and write with, so there is that, but the fact that my brand new charger broke has really broken my spirits, so even if i can, i have no clue if i will have it in me to continue to write until i get a new one, i hope that i will be able to continue soon, but i dont know when that soon is going to be. That is all i wanted to say, so with that, have a good couple of days

~IDK


	3. Freaking Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my charger came early!

It's freaking Monday, what the actual hell was Patton doing here? He had never once come on Monday, always Thursday, like? What?

"Hey, you are on shift on Thursday too, right?" he asked me, being stupidly bubbly and adorable.

"Yeah, I work here everyday, it's basically my full time job," I joked, rather pathetically.

"You never take any breaks?! That can't be good for your mental health," he cried, "when do you have time to do any of the things that you love? Hang out with your friends? Do anything?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, ok, I love working here, I don't have any hobbies that can't be done while working here, and my friends are also very busy, plus, I never said that I didn't take breaks," I tried to explain, “we have days where we just clean up the place and have it closed, and I wouldn't dream of coming in sick."

"But-" he tried

"I'm fine, are you going to order?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, can I have a caramel frappe with a chocolate cookie?" He ordered, and I assumed that the conversation was over, but I was corrected when he walked over to another area or the counter and continued to talk to me. “So, you said that you can do all of your hobbies here, what do these hobbies entail?” he asked me.

“Oh, well, I enjoy people watching, seeing other people’s stories unfold in front of me, and I doodle on the cups sometimes, not that they are very good,” I replied, rather bashfully, for… some reason.

“Oh! You’re the one doodling on the cups? They are so good and cute, don’t put yourself down like that!” Patton exclaimed, rather forcefully.

“It’s fine, I know that I’m not that good at art, it’s totally cool, you don’t have to try to spare my feelings,” I replied.

“I’m not! They are very good!” he tried.

“Sure, whatever floats your boat,” I tiredly replied, before hearing the bell go off, “I gotta go and take this customer.”

“Mhm, go ahead.”

I sighed, shaking my head as I walked over to the counter. “Good morning, Mecan, and Mocoa, how are you doing today, ladies?” I asked, pulling a dog treat out from behind the counter.

“We are doing well, thanks for asking, how have you been Virgil?” Mecan asked me as I handed Mocoa her treat.

“Oh, I’ve been well, thanks, now, what can I get started for you today?” I knew exactly what she was going to order.

“Oh, can I get a iced matcha with a bit of vanilla?” she asked like I hadn’t made that exact order a thousand times. “Do you have any of the poppy seed muffins?”

“You know I always have one fore you, that will be $5.29, please.” Mecan paid with her card, and I went on my way making her drink.

“Here, and have a nice day, you two,” I gave them their drink and they thanked me before walking off. I turned back to see Patton still standing where I left him.

“That was really sweet, they seemed like nice people,” Patton commented.

“Oh yeah, Mecan is really sweet, and Mocoa is an amazing guide dog, from what I’ve heard and seen,” I laughed fondly, looking back at all the times the pair had come in, including the first time.

It was a bright sunny day, and Virgil heard the bell. He looked over to the door and saw a woman standing in the doorway, not making any move to come in, and not looking at anyone or anything directly. She stood there for a second before calling out.

“Hey, can I bring my seeing eye dog here?”

“Of course, oh dear, we need to get the pets welcome sign put into braille, don't we?” I asked myself, “Come on in, friend.”

“Oh, thanks, um?” she asked, seeming to be asking for my name.

“Virgil, and how may I help you today, oh, wait! Let me get the braille version of the menu!” I called before running into the back room to grab one of the menus.

“Oh, thanks.” I came back and she was a few feet away from the register.

“Hey, you're off a bit, if it helps, the carpet is a straight line from the door to the register,” I called out, but not too brashly as to startle the poor woman.

“Oh, thanks, I’m sorry,” the woman tried to apologise.

“No, no, no, it’s absolutely fine, but it would be rather hard to hand you a menu or have you pay with you too far away from the register, unfortunately,” I cut her apology off.

“Yeah, that would be a challenge, wouldn’t it,” she laughed. I handed her the menu when she got close enough to the register. She ran her fingers over it, looked lost in thought for a second, and then spoke. “Can I get an iced matcha… with a bit of vanilla?”

“Sure, of course, anything else?”

“Do you have any of these lemon poppy seed muffins?” she asked, rather timidly.

“Yep! Could I get a name for the order?” I replied.

“Hm? Oh, yes, Mecan, with a c instead of a g,” she laughed a bit, “my parents were a bit extra.”

“Yeah? Well I think it’s a lovely name, why don’t you go sit down while I make your order, hm?” I suggested, and she told her dog to bring her to an empty table.

I made the order, called her name out, she got her things, thanked me, and left.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Patton laughing. “You are really cool, you know that?” he asked me, like I wasn’t just a loser who worked at a cafe in the middle of downtown.

“Sure, and you’re the queen of England,” I laughed.

“Don’t you dare talk bad about yourself or I will physically fight you!”Patton called.

“Sure, Pat, that’s totally going to happen,” I laughed, sarcastically. 

Patton pouted, and gave me puppy dog eyes. “Will you at least try to not be so hard on yourself?” he basically begged, curse me for being so weak. ( _ahem_ gay)

“Sure, fine, I’ll try, but no promises,” I gave in.

“Thank you! Oh, look at the time,” Patton said, checking his phone, “I must be leaving, but I’ll see you another time!” he called as he rushed out the door.

“Yeah, on Thursday, like you always do,” I muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my charger was supposed to come today, but it luckily cam yesterday, otherwise idk if i would have been able to finish the chapter and would have to wait until friday   
> speaking of friday, this book will update of most mondays and hopefully every friday


	4. A Giant Invaded The Cafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woooowweeeee this is a chapter

On Wednesday, you will not believe who dared to show up, the giant himself, Janus. The guy literally had like two feet on me. I was used to being short, as I needed my platform boots to get over five feet, but like, dang, the guy must almost be seven feet tall. I’m sure he was also used to being taller than most people, but he towered over me, not that he would know from behind the counter as the ground was raised about a foot, but he had to catch me not behind the counter.

There was a spill, and I was the only one clocked in for about another hour, so I went to go clean it up, and mister tall, dark, and handsome came waltzing in. He took one look at me, as I was kind of glaring up at him, and he snickered, walking over to the register.

I finished cleaning up the mess and walked over and got behind the counter.

“Hello, what can I do for you today?” I asked, trying to keep my customer voice that was so practiced from breaking into the slight jealous tone, because it was not fair for him to be allowed to be that tall, spare a couple inches for us short people, dude.

“Hm, can I get a brownie?” he asked, still smirking a bit.

“Of course, would you like anything with that?” I asked, practiced lines.

“Hmm, can I also get some hot cocoa?” he asked, smiling innocently.

“Sure, can I get a name for the order?” I asked, knowing exactly what was going on the cup, and who I was going to call for.

“Janus, please and thank you,” he smiled innocently, paid, and then walked over to a seat near the back of the cafe, pulling out his phone to text someone. _(incase you were wondering, he was saying that he found someone shorter than Logan, the shortest of the group of investigators, to their group chat)_

I quietly made his drink, and grabbed his brownie. I walked over the pick up counter and called “Hot cocoa and a brownie for… unfairly tall, brownie and hot cocoa for unfairly tall,” while squinting at the cup like I was trying to pronounce some sort of strange name. The other patrons, all knowing of my inexplicable shortness, all started laughing.

Janus snorted, got up and walked over. “Thanks, short cake,” he laughed, going back to sit down.

I laughed, and then the sketching girl walked in, and came over to the counter. I pulled out her chocolate muffin, and she walked over to the corner where she sat and sketched. She looked around, and I saw the washer eyes lit up when she saw her drawing of an enchanted lake hanging on one of the walls in a fancy frame. It warmed my heart, and reminded me why I really loved working there.

I sat behind the counter, and started doodling on one of the cups, just drawing what I saw around me, drawing the cafe and the people sitting there. It was calming. I saw my coworker, Mei, walk in, and called out to let her know I was going on break.

I walked over to the sketching girl, and sat down quietly. “So, got anything new for us?”

She laughed, and gave me a drawing of none other than Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome in a rather cartoony form, tallness very exaggerated. I laughed, taking it over to Janus himself.

“A little artist over there seems to agree with me about the unfairness of your tallness,” I laughed putting the drawing down on the table. He looked down and laughed. 

“It seems she does, but it is a very nice drawing,” he smiled.

“Yes, it is, and I was wondering if I could get your permission to hang it up in a frame like a large amount of the other drawings,” I also smiled.

“Oh, of course, I would love such a nice drawing of me to be hung up, I’m actually flattered, this is a bit too attractive to be accurate, anyways,” he laughed bashfully.

“Nope, you are 100% as attractive as you are in the drawing, maybe even more, and I have a feeling that Patton would hate to hear that you were acting self deprecating,” he gave me an absurd face full of all kinds of emotions, he was about to say something, but I cut him off, “before you ask, I would totally tattle on you,” I giggled, god, how embarrassing, I moved to cover my face with my hands, and he smirked.

“Hmm, I’m attractive, you say? Enough to get the short cake’s number?” God, stupid smooth tall. UGH!

“Hnng- uhm- sure? Here, I scribbled my number before rushing back behind the counter, going straight to the break room, Mei laughing at me as I passed.

I took some time to compose myself, and then looked at my phone, I had so many texts from so many different unknown numbers, dear god, what happened.

**?:** _Hey, it’s Janus, this is my number_

**?:** _I also may have given your number to everyone who joins me here on Thursday.. Hehe_

**Contact saved as** the tall

**v:** _u what_

**the tall:** _Heh.. they asked for it, I hope you don’t mind_

**v:** _i guess its fine, just dont give it to anyone else_

**v:** _and some notice might have been nice_

**the tall:** _Sorry_

**?:** _hey, it’s Roman, I come to the cafe on Thursdays?_

**?:** _I got your number from Janus_

**Contact saved as** princey

**v:** _yeah i heard_

**?:** _Hey Kiddo, it’s Patton, I got your number from Janus, I won't be able to talk for a bit, have a nice day, don’t forget to take some breaks!_

**Contact saved as** stupidly sweet

**v:** _ok, you have a gud day 2_

**?:** _Salutations, Virgil, this is Logan from the cafe on Thursday, sorry if this text is sudden, we just got your number and I thought it appropriate to let you save my number seeing as I have yours, now, talk to you later, I am rather busy today._

**Contact saved as** hecking nerd

**v:** _cool_

**?:** _sup dood, this is that crazy shit remus_

**?:** _i stole ur # from janny_

**?:** _im bored_

**?:** _mesage me_

**?:** _borrreeeeddddd_

**?:** _BBBOOOORRRRRREEEDDDD_

**Contact saved as** dukey

**v:** _jesus fucking christ dude chill_

**dukey:** _finaalllyyyy_

**dukey:** _cure my boredom_

**v:** _how?_

**dukey:** _when do you get off work?_

**v:** _uhh like 4 why_

**dukey:** _cool we are going to a park_

**v:** _do i have a choice_

**dukey:** _no_

**v:** _fine_

Dear god, what did I just get myself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, so, uh, Virgil is like 4'11'' and Janus is 6'11", he is a big tall. also, oooohhhh, what is remus going to force our little barista to do, and also, how is he going to react to super short?
> 
> writing text messages physically pains me, it was so god annoying and i decided to change the format of the texts after i had already written all of them, which meant going back and changing every single one and adding and moving all of the <> commands for bold italics underline, i nearly lost it, good thing its the only time im writing texts... right? not like they are in the next chapter too. I also now have had to go back and check every line like three times because something went wrong


	5. A peek at the group chat and a not date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didnt think i was going to be able to finish this chapter, tbh

**ratman:** _i totally just got a hot date with the hot barista_

**Prince Dude:** _Dude, did you even ask if that was ok? You are in a relationship with 3 other people_

**ratman:** _its not like they dont also wanna get in his pants_

**Logan:** _Although we all mutually find Virgil attractive, I think it would have been better if you consulted us before asking him out._

**ratman:** _ok ok ok_

**ratman:** _calm your tits_

**ratman:** _its not really a date_

**ratman:** _im just draggin him to the park after he gets off work_

**Snake Boy:** _Did he even agree to this Remus?_

**ratman:** _he said fine_

**Dad:** _Oh, kiddo, I wish I could join the two of you, but I am rather busy today_

**ratman:** _is patton jealous?_

**ratman:** _dont worry i still love u_

**Dad:** _ily 2, but I really do need to go, I will talk to you all later, and have fun Remus, but please don’t traumatize poor Virgil_

**how do people make whole text stories, Jesus, this is so difficult**

**my patience is being thoroughly tested**

**god i tried but i give up**

I wandered out of the cafe at 4, and saw Remus standing by the door. He heard it open and looked at me for a second before immediately engulfing me in a hug, and lifting me off my feet. I screeched as he lifted me and twirled me around like we were a couple. Eventually he put me down, and I took a few seconds to calm myself and take some deep breaths.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, it’s just when Janus told us he found someone shorter than Logan, I assumed it would be someone who was like 5’2”, not a tiny,adorable barista,” he chuckled.I had seen that Logan was a few inches smaller than the rest of the group, but their height was varied largely. “I had no idea that you were _this_ short, you seemed so much taller behind the counter.”

“Yes, well, the counter is raised about a foot to make us easier to be seen by the customers, and I may be below average in height, but that does **not** make me cute, or whatever,” **(sureeeee *cough* #ShortAndCuteVirgil2020*cough*)** I pouted.

“Whatever you say, tiny barista, now let’s go to the park and cure my endless boredom and suffering,” Remus called, dragging me towards the park.

We walked quietly for a little, but then, Remus took off, running, dragging me with him. It was rather unfair, seeing as he had longer legs, and was definitely stronger than me, so he was legitimately dragging me behind him. At some point I tripped and nearly landed face first on the concrete, but a certain rat man caught me just before I made contact with the ground. He seemed to have dubbed me ‘too clumsy to run’ seeing as he picked me up bridal style, and with out another word, or any type of acknowledgements of my protests, began running again Everything flew by me in a blur, and eventually he was putting a very disoriented me down onto a park bench. I sat there in a daze for a few minutes and when I looked up he was chasing a duck.

I stared for a minute, and he finally gave up. **(Jesus Christ i just pulled my doorknob off, oh god, thank heavens we fixed it lol)** Remus walked back over to me. “You doing ok, shortie? You were staring off into space for a good couple of minutes.”

“I would have been better if you didn’t decide to pick me up and run, like, why the actual hell did you do that?” I ask, feeling rather pissed off.

“Well, I was getting more bored by walking, and you fell, so I thought it would be better for you, and more fun for me, to just, ya know, carry you,” Remus replied, rather cheekily.

“You know what? Whatever, just give me a little warning next time, please,” I calmed myself a bit.

“Are you implying that there is going to be a next time?” Remus asked, a bit lustfully, it's infuriating.

“I have a feeling that if you decide that there is going to be a next time, there is going to be a next time, I’m not even sure if you’ll give me a heads up, you seem like the guy to wait outside, and the second I leave, just drag me where ever you wanted to go,” I laughed.

He snorted. “I’m offended that you know me so well from only a few conversations.”

“It’s not exactly like you guys talk quietly, I mean, your like the only people who come on Thursdays, other than the people who come everyday, and they all come in the morning, it’s kinda hard not to hear a few things, besides, I feel like I’ve been working with people long enough to find and understand mannerisms and noticing personality traits.”

“So you eavesdrop on our conversations?” Remus asked, raising one eyebrow, god, stupid cheeky attractive bitch.

“In short, I eavesdrop on everyone who comes in, it’s what makes the job fun, plus your stories are interesting.”

“Hmmm, so we’re interesting?”

“Interesting enough to be the only reason I keep the Thursday shift,” I replied with a dry laugh.

“Really?” I nodded, “Sweet!” he laughs, then grabs my hand, pulling me up. “Let’s go get ice cream, my treat, also, fair warning, I’m carrying you, and running, there is no other way, plus it’s fun to carry someone so tiny, do you want me to carry you the way I did here, or piggyback?”

“I have no choice?” he nodded, “Well, I would prefer piggyback, if you would be so kind,” I said, sarcastically. He leaned down with his back in front of me, and I hopped on, he grabbed my legs and took off. I was holding onto him with all my might, and trying hard not to scream as he sprinted to the cute ice cream shop near the park.

We finally got there, and he let me off. I took a breath, and followed him in, there I saw a certain pair of regulars in a booth, finally seeming to have been on a date.

“Remy, Emile, how are two of my favorite people doing today? Finally going on a date?” I called out to them. I heard Remus snort behind me and he put a hand on my shoulder. Remy looked at me from under his sunglasses and Emile turned a rosy red. 

“Yeah, the little cutie finally got the guts to ask me out today,” Remy called back, I laughed. 

Emile punched his arm. “Hey!” Remy smirked at Emile, “You basically had a microsoft error staring at me for like three minutes before you actually answered me.” Remy looked personally attacked for a moment before smirking again.

“It’s called a gay panic, babe, and I will admit that the cute therapist is, infact, cute enough to cause one of those.”

Emile squeaked, hiding his head in his hands, and Remy moved over to sit next to him, and whispered something into his ear. He then turned to look at me. “Looks like someone else finally got himself a date?” Remy asked, looking between me and Remus. I snorted.

“More like I got kidnapped after my shift by a mad man, we are just friends, Remy,” I looked him dead in the eye, hopefully, it was rather hard to find his eyes from behind the sunglasses.

He looked back at me, and sighed. Remus pulled me over to the place to order, and he got a monstrosity, where I just stuck with a plain vanilla. We talked for a little while, and then We noticed the sun starting to set. Then I realized who I left home alone. I stood up and gasped. “Oh my god, Remus, I’m so sorry, but I need to go, I left my devil child, aka my devil cat, home alone, and if I want my apartment not to be destroyed, I need to go, but I’ll see you guys tomorrow, right?” I asked, while starting towards the door.

“That’s the plan, see ya tomorrow, shortie!” he called after me.

Low and behold, I got home and my devil child had destroyed the place, I sighed, feeding her, and started to clean up the mess that was mostly my own fault for leaving my precious baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, texting is hard, and i dont like it, to bad im probably going to continue to have it in this fic, but like also, that was a real interesting not date, and i think we all know remus traumatized poor tiny cute virgil, wont pat be so proud?


	6. Coffee, Conversations, and Curious Gays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what the name of this chapter is, but umm, its got a name, i guess, uhh

The next day, the group of guys showed up like they did every week, and he expected them to order, and go talk at their table like they did every week, and for the most part they did. Except for Patton.

“Hey kiddo, I heard Remus dragged you to the park yesterday, hope he didn’t scare you too much,” Patton laughed, ignoring the looks from his friends, probably urging him to hurry it up.

“I mean, the worst thing he did was decide to pick me up randomly because I am, unfortunately, short,” I joked.

“Oh, well you don’t look short to me, I mean, look, you're taller than me right now,” Patton laughed.

“Yeah, well that’s because the area behind the register is raised about a foot, just to make things a bit easier, seeing as the counter is pretty high,” I said, moving to the area where you got behind the counter, **(me forgetting what things are called again lol)** stepping down to meet Patton, who was nearly a foot taller than the emo boy, aka me, “see? I am fairly short on my own, I need these platforms to get over 5 feet, which is really annoying, to be honest. But, what can you do?”

Patton squealed. “Janus was right! Logan, come over here real quick!” Patton called over to the table of friends? I didn’t know, to be honest. Logan stood up, and walked over to us.

“Yes, Patton? Did you need something?” Logan asked after he made his way over to us.

“Yes! Look!” Patton squealed, pointing at me, oh god, “Janus was totally right, you are taller than him!”

“Patton, don’t you think that’s kind of rude, Virgil is standing right there,” Logan scolded. **(I originally made logan say kinda? what? thats like me saying kinda in my english essay earlier this year, ughhh)**

“Oop- I’m sorry kiddo, it’s just, Janus and Remus mentioned that you were on the shorter side, and I thought that they were joking, seeing as both of them are rather tall, and you seemed much taller on the other side of the register,” Patton apologised. “Speaking of Janus and Remus, we were wondering if you would like to sit with us, maybe, for a bit?” Patton asked, hopefully.

“I don’t see why you would want me to sit with you, seeing as I am pretty boring, but I also don’t see why not, Thursdays are always so slow,” I mumbled mainly to myself. “Why not, I’ll sit with you for a bit, if it’s ok with everyone else,” I answered.

“Well, we decided to ask you to sit with us as a group before we got here, so I don’t see how any of us would mind,” Logan stated. I had to forcibly keep my eyes from widening and my jaw from dropping, why on Earth would they discuss asking a stupid barista to sit with them?

Patton grabbed my hand, dragging me over to their table.

“Hey Virgil, how was the rest of your day yesterday?” Janus asked as I made it over to their table.

“Honestly, one of the most interesting days of my life, it’s not everyday you get dragged to the park, picked up and ran with, watch a weirdo chase a duck and run into your friends on a date at an ice cream parlor, after being picked up again,” I respond, sending a look over to Remus.

“He picked you up, with out your permission?” Roman asked.

“Uhm, the first time, yeah, and he barely had it the second time.”

“Remus! Dude! That’s not cool man!” Roman shoved Remus, who broke out laughing.

“You can’t tell me that you don’t look at this tiny, adorable emo and _don't_ have the urge to pick him up!” Remus cackled.

“I am not tiny, and I am not adorable!” I huffed.

“I would have to disagree, short cake,” Janus said.

“Agree to disagree, then, because I will stand by what I said,” I shot back

“Mhm, whatever you say, shortcake, just know you will be eating those words, tiny one.” Janus looked down at me. I huffed again.

“Why don’t we just all sit down, and have some normal conversations?” Patton suggested, bless him, finally people won’t be towering over me.

We sat down and started talking, or they started talking, and I just listened, not really having much to put into the conversation.

**(at this point, im wondering, should they be aliens? Like? Should they? Idk man, maybe, like im writing this, i could totally do that if i wanted to guys? I probably wont, but i could totally do that)**

Patton had been kept very busy with someone who thought someone was either breaking into their house, or living in their house, and that’s why he had been so busy as of late. Roman actually just got back from a trip from helping an old friend out of town, Remus was having a dry spot, Logan was helping out at the library. Janus also seemed to be keeping quiet, but then I noticed he was staring at one of the framed drawings on the wall. I looked, and noticed that it was the drawing that the sketching girl had made. I smiled softly, and he looked at me.

“When you said you were going to frame it and hang it up, I thought you were joking,” he said suddenly, startling me.

“What?” Patton asked, curiously.

“I hang up drawings all the time, if it’s given to me, it’s probably hung up somewhere in the cafe, whether it be on the fridge, on the counter, on the wall, why would I joke about hanging such a lovely drawing up?” I responded, wondering what would cause him to believe that I would even dream of joking about that.

“I’m sorry, but would one of you mind explaining what on Earth is happening?” Logan asked, and I got up, much to the distress of the people sitting at the table. I traveled over to the framed drawing, grabbing it off the wall and bringing it back to the table to show the guys.

“Aww, is that our little Janny?” Remus asked, sounding at least a little patronizing.

“Yes, a young lady who comes in on Wednesdays to draw gave it to me, and after asking permission of this giant over here, I hung it up, like I normally do when given a drawing by a patron,” I answered. I could tell that Patton was about to say something, but the doorbell chimed, and a very frazzled looking… Emile? came in.

“Sorry, gotta go do my jobs,” I excused myself and went back over to the counter to help our favorite little therapist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm, why is Emile so frazzled, what do our tall gays think of how kind our boy is, why is virgil so babey? come back next time on DISASTER GAYS AND COFFEE SHOPS.... just kidding, thats a rip from useless gays and wrong numbers, if you havent read that, i would 100% recommended it  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24493645/chapters/59122948 (link to ugawn)
> 
> see ya later bois
> 
> crap, just remembered gay thoughts and coffee shops, uh, also that, you should read it too, its prinxiety, logicality
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24182269/chapters/58243642


	7. Remy Do Be Askin Out Tho, also More GC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehehehehehehehehehe

**i am sitting on my bed about to write this chapter, and i kinda want shit to go down, but i keep having to remind myself to save it for something else as i am trying to keep this mainly fluffy, ughh**

“Hey, Emile, what’s up, you look like something big went down, and you know I want all the tea, so, tell me,” I slid back behind the counter, knowing that Emile wanted to vent.

“Remy,” Emile stated plainly. I swore if he ghosted my precious child, I would destroy him, who cares if he is one of my favorite customers.

“What’d he do?” I asked, trying not to give away the fact that I was literally a few wrong words from biting that oblivious gay’s head off.

“Heaskedmeoutonaseconddateandidontknowwhattodoiwanttogobutlikewhatdoiwear?howdoiact?ohmygoodnessimgoingtodievirgilhelp,” Emile was speed-talking, and I could barely understand anything other than ‘he asked me out’, and ‘Virgil help’.

“Whoa whoa whoa, ok, he asked you out?” I asked.

“YES! I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, I said yes already, but what am I supposed to wear, what if he hates what I wear, what if he doesn’t like that I like to wear fem-” I cut Emile off before he could spiral as bad as I do sometimes.

“Emmy, he would love you wearing something more feminine, probably call you cute, but in the off chance he doesn’t, I will take care of him,” I tried to comfort Emile.

“Vivi, I don’t want you hurting anyone, please, can you just help me? I know that this may not be your strong point, but I trust you to be honest so please?” Emmy pleaded.

“Emmy, it’s pretty bold of you to assume that this isn’t my strong point, I won't just be honest, dude, I will pick out your whole outfit from what I know of Remy, if you’d like,” I promised him.

“You would? Oh that’s so fantastic! Thank you so much Vivi, it means so much to me, thank you,” Emile hugged me from across the counter.

“Ok, so when is this date?” I asked.

“It’s tomorrow at 8,” Emile replied.

“Ok, so here’s what we’re gonna do, you are going to come and pick me up tomorrow at 4 after my shift, and you're going to take me over to your place and I can pick out your outfit, ok?” I suggested, even though I was more of stating what was going to happen.

“Uh, why don’t you just follow me in your car?” Poor, sweet, innocent Emile asked me.

“Do you really expect _me_ to have a car? Because if so, you're wrong, I can walk everywhere in the city, and I need all the money I can get for my precious angel,” I joked, not noticing the horrified look Remus gave me.

“Oh, uh, ok, I will pick you up, ok, can I have the special and a cookie?” Emile finally ordered.

“Of course, I will get right on that for you,” I prepared his order, gave it to him, and watched him leave. I looked back over to the guys at their table, and noticed them getting up. Patton walked over to me. 

“Hey, we gotta go, but I’ll see you around, ok?” Patton asked.

“Of course, if you want to find me, I’m here from 5 to 4 on weekdays, 5 to 6 on weekends,” I replied, waving at the boys who were walking out the door, “I will talk to you next time, I don’t want to keep you, I know you’ve been busy.”

“B-bye, see ya,” Patton called, walking away from me and out the door. I sighed and got ready for a slow next few hours of my shift before I could finally go home and see @, my precious baby.

**Prince Dude:** _Did you guys see how sweet the Emo was?_

**ratman:** _yeah..._

**Logan:** _Is something wrong, Remus?_

**ratman:** _no, its just that i kept virgil out p late last nite and we just learnd that he dont have a car_

**Dad:** _His shift starts at 5, he works 11 hours a day on weekdays, and 13 hours on weekends, without any days off, that can't be good for him 😟_

**ratman:** _we need tp convince vi to work less_

**Logan:** _It would be beneficial to him to lessen his work load, having breaks is important to keep up good mental health_

**Snake Boy:** _He needs to take care of himself, he might work himself sick_

**ratman:** _and he has to walk everywhere he still doesnt have a car_

**Dad:** _Oh dear, he really shouldn’t be waking up that early, he isn’t hiding his eye bags very well_

**ratman:** _wat do we do?_

**ratman:** _i dont want him to be suffering_

**Dad:** _None of us do Remus, we need to just try our best to help him realize that this isn’t healthy, at all_

**Logan:** _I agree that we should help him to realize the unhealthiness in his ways before something terrible happens to him._

**Dad:** _Wow Lo, that seemed pretty emotionally charged, you really care about this guy, don't you?_

**Logan:** _You all saw how caring he was too, it’s not like any of you want something bad to happen to hin either, he is to nice._

**Prince Dude:** _lo, did you make a spelling mistake AND a grammatical error? You must be feeling very emotional!_

**Dad:** _Lo, you don’t have to defend caring about someone, it’s ok_

**Logan:** _Shush all of you, I am going to ignore this group chat for a while, I will talk to you later._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> awww, bebe reeree feels bad, and, they all agree that virgil is babey and best boi, what do you all think, normally i have more to say about chapters, but not really this one, idk why, but oh well, happy monday
> 
> holy moly, i just reread the chapter and now i have things to say! ok, so babey logie cares! also, ratman is feeling a bit guilty, and am i foreshadowing a chapter where vivi gets sick, yes i am because i really want to write that cute ass shit, like our boyos going over to help our babey best boi! YES


	8. Emmy Looking Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yooo, it's like midnight where i am, but i have a couple chapters written ahead, which is p strange for me, and I also have chapters planned, which is mega strange, but also like cool, but anyways, i have had this chapter written for like days and im glad to finally update lol

I woke up feeling a bit stuffy on the day of Emile’s date with Remy. Nothing big, just feeling a bit sleepy and tired. I forced myself up anyways, gotta go to work and shit.

I ended up getting there about thirty minutes before my shift started, which sucked dick, so I chilled in the back until my coworker Ellie came in, and I dragged myself off the floor and started actually doing my job. Sigh.

Remy came in. OooOOoooOooohhHHhhh that was gonna be good.

“Morning, Addict,” I greeted him.

“Bitch, stfu, I am going on a date with Emile today, quit it with the shitty formalities and let me RANT!” God, Remy was so dramatic.

“Mhm, go on,” I urged him, mainly so I could help Emile better later on that day.

“Oh my god, he is so goddamned adorable, showing up with those gorgeous eyes, and that adorable face. God, and his glasses that just frame his face, his stupidly adorable hair. He looks so cute all the time, I kinda wish he would come out of his shell and wear those dresses and skirts more often, they make him look so freaking adorable. GOD. NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO BE THAT FREAKING CUTE! IT’S NOT FAIR. Virgil, my poor gay heart, oh my god, he is so perfect.” I sighed fondly.

“You better treat him right, otherwise I _will_ have your head on a platter, you hear me, he is too innocent to be broken, he deserves love, and I trust you to give it to him, DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME ADDICT!” I looked him dead in the eyes.

“God, if I ever hurt him, I will willingly put my head through the hole for the guillotine. He deserves the world, and I would give it to him if I could,” Remy sighed, lovingly.

“If I don’t have a happy squealing Emmy coming in here in a few weeks saying you asked him to be your boyfriend finally, I will riot, stupid gay,” I laughed, and Remy made an assortment of offended noises. **(i swear, i forgot the word offended and hat to sit on it for a minute, i cant even with myself)**

“How dare you assume that he won't be coming in here tomorrow saying I asked him to be mine, bitch, I am offended that you think I could possibly risk losing that adorable little sprinkle of sunlight,” Remy stared me in the eye, and I stared right back, challenging him to a staring contest, which I won, hah! Loser!

“Of course, now, what do you want today?” I asked, trying to get the lovesick puppy to finally order. 

“Can I get a vanilla something or other?” Remy asked, and I stared at him for a second before calling out to Ellie.

“El, what the hell is a ‘something or other’?”

“Don’t ask me, just make something random or some shit,” Ellie called back. I looked at Remy and smirked.

I made his coffee quickly and let him take it and walk out. He came over to the register fuming.

“What the hell is this?” Remy demanded.

“Apparently a vanilla something or other, or, vanilla flavored milk, care to actually order this time?” I replied, looking him dead in the eyes, he smirked, and fear pulsed through me.

“Can I have a quad long shot medium in a large cup half calf double cupped no sleeve salted caramel mocha latte with 2 pumps of vanilla substitute 2 pumps of white chocolate mocha for mocha and substitute 2 pumps of hazelnut for toffee nut half whole milk and half breve with no whipped cream extra hot extra foam extra caramel drizzle extra salt add a scoop of vanilla bean powder with light ice well stirred,” he said without missing a beat and staring me in the eye. I felt my eyes widen as he spoke, I was so ready to bite his head off. I took a shaky breath, and looked at the monster of an order, took a picture, and began working, begrudgingly.

I finished, and he took his drink and left. I messaged Logan with a picture of the stupid order.

**v:** _look at this stupid af order that one of my regulars ordered today, can you believe the crap i gotta put up with here?_

**hecking nerd:** _That looks like it is very complicated, why would anyone order that?_

**v:** _well, he is an actual caffeine addict, and decided it would be fun to order a “vanilla something or other” and so i gave him vanilla milk as we do not serve “vanilla something or other” and i didnt kno what it was and he got mad_

**hecking nerd:** _I mean, it seems like petty revenge, from what I have heard from Roman, is that what it was?_

**v:** _i mean yeah but revenge for revenge isnt aloud_

**hecking nerd:** _There are rules for revenge? I wasn't aware, if you could send me those rules, I would very much appreciate it._

**v:** _those rules only apply to me and remy dude_

**v:** _if you want them from ur bfs you need to ask them_

**v:** _not me_

**hecking nerd:** _Oh, I was not aware that different people had different rules for revenge?_

**v:** _o, i gotta go, got a job to do, ttyl_

I sighed, and continued to do my job.

At the end of my shift, I wandered out of the cafe and saw Emile waiting for me. “Hey, Emmy, are you ready?” I asked, cheerfully, hiding the fact that I actually hated his date at that time.

“Yep, I’m so excited, eek!” Emile was beaming at me, and it made me forget my grudge against the addict and just enjoy the fact that one of my favorite customers was happy. Then I began to spiral. Were we friends? Why don’t I refer to him as my friend? We talk a lot. Does he think we are friends? What is he doesn’t think that we are friends and I call us friends and he gets offended? What if he thinks we are friends? What do I do?

“-gil? Virgil?” I was pulled out of my spiral.

“Hm?” I hummed.

“Sorry friendo, you looked a bit lost for a second, I was asking if you wanted to head over to my house,” Emmy looked at me a bit concerned.

“That sounds fine,” I replied, following him. Did that mean he thought we were friends? I hoped so.

The drive to Emile’s apartment wasn’t very long, and when we went inside, I pushed him straight(gay, **you know i gotta that joke every time, sorry, i know that i have probably made it before and will make it again lolol** ) to his room before he could offer me anything to drink and distract us from the matter at hand.

“So, do you have any ideas of what you want to wear?” I asked.

“Um, no, I’m sorry,” Emmy replied.

“It’s fine, Emmy, that just gives me more creative liberty on how I can dress you up,” I stood up and looked through his closet, picking out an outfit, and giving it to my friend, **(i got excited just typing friend, god, im so sad rip)** “here, put this on, and come out to show me.” Emile got up and moved into the bathroom, changing, and coming back out.

“VIRGIL! I CAN’T WEAR THIS!” Emmy shrieked, and I giggled, knowing that the outfit I picked out was very much an at home thing for Emile.

“Chill, I’ll find something new,” I said, heading back to his closet, picking out a new outfit for Emmy.

He took outfit after outfit, and wouldn’t decide on any, so I drew the line. “I swear if you don’t pick out an outfit, Emmy, we have been trying on things for hours, I thought we were going to have plenty of time and that I _wouldn’t_ be walking home in the dark, dude, it is 7:30, you only have half an hour, pick something before I do, or you will be stuck in what I give you.”

“Ok, ok, ok, I’ll pick something,” Emile started picking through the pile as I also started to pick through the pile, I came out victorious. I handed Emile a short sleeved button down with a white skirt and a pair of white converse. 

“Virgil! I will get so cold!” Emile shrieks, and I smirk.

“And then… you get his jacket, Emmy, please, I know what I’m doing, and I want to hear all about your date later, ok, now I really do have to get going, I need to grab dinner and hopefully make it home before it gets too dark, I will see you later, enjoy your date, ok?” I say, grabbing my bag and head out of Emile’s room.

“Ok… I will see you later, have a safe trip home! Bye!” Emile calls after me.

I ended up walking home in the dark after picking up McDonalds, and when I got home, @ had thoroughly destroyed my room. I sighed, and fed us both dinner, sitting with her as I watched T.V.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remy do be smitten tho, im sorry, why did i make that joke again? Idk, but like also, writing this made me really want to imagine our tiny vivi in the others hoodies, specifically janus's hoodie, because, it would be like an actual dress on our little boi, and so now, i have decided that vivi is going to start a pre-bf hoodie collection, and i couldn't be more thrilled, also, vivi is starting to show signs of sickness! WEEE, also, i looked for like 20 minutes for that coffee order, man, that was a journey


	9. I Love Cats

I woke up to @ sitting on my lap, sleeping sweetly, and I couldn’t bare to leave her to lay alone, so I pulled her over to where I could pet her, and called for a later shift for the day, and ended up starting at noon instead of 5 and working until 6, a very short shift, but I got more time with @, so it was ok.

I ended up curled with my child for another half an hour before she forced me to get her food. I got up and begrudgingly made us both some breakfast and watered my plants. I used a regular coffee maker for the first time in a long time. It felt wrong, I couldn’t bear the thought that I was cheating on my cafe, it broke my heart. Luckily, @ was there to repair it, and beg for a walk. 

@ was a mainly indoor cat, because I live in the middle of the city and don’t want my baby getting kidnapped or killed, so when she goes outside, we walk together. She was trained on a leash before I got her, and showed signs of being scared of going outside without a leash on, so even though she really didn’t need one, she wore a leash when we walked.

We walked mindlessly a couple blocks, and then I found myself in front of a very familiar building. I was in front of Emmy’s building. I sniffed, and realized my nose was running, and sighed. Emmy loved seeing pictures of my cat, why not show him the real thing. Emile was actually allergic, but @ was hypoallergenic, because my dad was allergic to them, and when I got @, we lived with him. I sighed, and texted Emmy, letting him know that while on a walk, me and @ ended up at his building, and asked if he wanted to come down and meet my child, or if he wanted us to come up to him, or something. He quickly replied that he was coming to meet us, and that we could head up to his apartment after he came to us.

I waited for a few minutes, and heard footsteps, and looked up to see a very giddy Emile, wearing Remy’s jacket. Score.

“Hey Emile, this is @, my baby that you’ve seen in pictures, if you didn’t remember, she is hypoallergenic, so you can touch her if you like,” I introduced my friend to my precious child.

“Eeeee!” Emile squealed, “She is adorable, aww,” @ wandered over to Emmy and curled around his legs, Emmy immediately started petting her.

“@, this is Emile, he is a friend of mine,” I introduced my friend to my cat.

“As cute as this is, and as reluctant as I am to move, why don’t we go inside and get warmed up, maybe have some lunch,” Emile suggested, standing up.

“I don’t see why not,” I replied, and @ stood up. Emmy led us up to his home, and when we got inside, I let @ off her leash, with Emmy’s permission, of course. Me and Emmy sat on his couch and Emmy began to recount his date as @ curled up in his lap.

“So, spill on the date, how was it?” I asked in a teasing manner.

“Oh my, it was so fun! We went and had a picnic at the park. We stayed there for a few hours, and about halfway through, I got cold, and he gave me his jacket-” I cute Emile off.

“Called it,” I joked, and he light heartedly punched me in the arm.

“ANYWAYS, we sat and talked for hours, he said that I was really cute, and was so sweet, eek! Guess what?” Emile asked.

“What?”

“He asked me to be his boyfriend! Oh goodness, it was so sweet. He was so romantic, and I can’t, ahhh!” Emile was so giddy, it made me really happy.

“Good for you, I’m glad he knows how special and amazing you are, you deserve this Emmy,” I smiled and he jumped up and hugged me.

“Also, Remy said I could keep his jacket, isn’t that so sweet, I think it’s my new favorite clothing item, hehehe,” Emile started giggling, and @ moved from where she had been shoved off Emile’s lap over to my lap, where I mindlessly pet her while watching as Emile danced happily, happy that my friend was happy.

“So, is that all that happened?” I asked, smiling slightly as my friend pranced around the room.

“Um, yeah, pretty much, but it was so great, Virgil, can you believe that after all the time I spent swooning over him, he feels the same way?” Emile asked me,plopping down next to me, @ scurrying over to his lap.

“Nope, not like I listened to you two pinning over each other for months before you asked him out, and I totally _didn’t_ pray to any god that would listen for you two to finally stop being oblivious so I didn’t have to act like I didn’t hear the same thing practically every time I saw you two,” I replied, sarcastically. Emile was silent for a few moments.

“Was I really that bad?” he asked, in a small voice.

“No, it was just rather annoying feeling like a middle man for you two, you were perfectly fine, and I still got excited every time you walked through the door, Emmy, I love talking to you, and I still did even when you were annoyingly smitten with Remy,” I pulled my friend into a hug, “I consider you one of my favorite customers for a reason.”

“Thanks, Vivi,” Emile sighed, hugging me back. He looked at the clock for a second, and shot up. “Oh my goodness, I’m sorry Vi, but I gotta get to the office in like fifteen minutes, and I hate to kick you out but…”

“Dude, it’s fine, I need to get @ home anyways, I also have a job that I need to do, I will see you around, ok?” I asked him while putting @’s leash back on.

“Yeah, I’ll come by the cafe soon, ok, ok, bye!” he called, running out of the room. I sighed, and left the house with @ trailing behind me, heading home to set @ up and get ready for work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont you guys just love @, isn't she just the best? ;)


	10. I Don't Hate Mondays, Surprisingly

**my brother told me he hated coffee shop aus and im butt hurt lol**

I sighed as I leaned onto the counter. It was a Monday, which normally meant that Mecan and Mocoa came in, but they let me know that they would be going on a trip to be with their family, and so I was standing boredly against the counter. Remy came in earlier that morning, but he actually had something *cough someone *cough* Emile *cough* to do, so he didn’t stick around to gossip. I was sensing a boring day when the bell for the door rang. I looked up, smiling my customer service smile, but it quickly melted into a real smile when I saw Patton walking up to the register.

“Good morning, Patt,” I greeted him cheerfully.

“Morning, Virge,” Patton smiled back. “How are you doing today, Logan came in yesterday and said that you weren’t here, I got a bit worried, almost texted you before he told me that you apparently had a later shift than normal, did something happen?”

“Oh, nah, I just wanted to spend some time with @, so I took a shorter and later shift yesterday, took one of those, what’da’ya call em’, oh yeah, a break, from my long hours.” Patton made some concerned noises before looking at me confused.

“At? What is an at?” Patton asked me.

“Oh, yeah, my cat was named the at symbol by her previous owners, so @ is my cat,” I answered, rubbing my neck awkwardly.

“Oh, that’s kinda funny, I guess,” Patton was very clearly straining.

“Yeah, her name may be strange, but she is absolutely adorable, and very sweet when she isn’t destroying my house,” I joked fondly, “wanna see some pictures of her?” I asked Patton, his face lighting up.

“Would I? I would love to! I love cats, but I’m allergic, so I can’t have one,” Patton sighed sadly.

“Hm, well, @ is hypoallergenic, so,” I said absentmindedly as I pulled up some pictures of her.

“She is?!” Patton squealed as he looked at the picture, “But… she’s so fluffy?” he questioned.

“Yeah, but she is a Siberian breed, and they produce less Fel d1 then other cats, and so she is hypoallergenic **(i did mah research to find an adorable hypoallergenic cat, even though they are all adorable)** , you could meet her sometime if you wanted to,” I suggested, and Patton literally jumped. 

“Really? How soon? Could we do it today, I mean, I am free for the first time in a long time, and I don’t know how free I would be after today, but if you want to wait-” Patton began spiraling.

“We can do it today, I get off at 4, and then I would have to walk home to get her, so why don’t we meet at the park at like 5 and you can meet her, bring a friend if you like, I don’t really care, ok?” I cut him off before he could go any further into his spiral.

“Oh, um, ok! That sounds great, but I will probably come by myself,” he said happily.

“Fine by me, are you going to order?” I asked, as we had been talking for a couple minutes and now there was someone waiting in line.

“Oh, right, um, can I get a chocolate milk and a chocolate chip cookie?” he asked.

“Of course, that will be _insert reasonable price here, bc im lazy_ ,” I replied and started making his drink.

I walked towards the park with @ in her leash. It was nearly 4:45, but I was so nervous about being late, I rushed @ out of the house, and forgot my jacket. It was October, and I was already regretting not grabbing one, even though I was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, it was still cold, and there was no way that I could make it back to my place to grab the jacket and then get back to the park on time, so I just dealt with it.

I got to the place where we were supposed to meet about 15 minutes before we were supposed to. 15 minutes of sitting out in the cold. Sigh. I sat down on a bench, and @ hopped up onto my lap. I sat for a while and mindlessly sat putting her until my phone buzzed. I opened it and saw that pat said he was running 5 minutes late, 5 more minutes sitting in the cold, god, ‘if I’m not careful I’m gonna get a cold,’ I thought, and as if on cue, I started coughing a little bit, I really regretted not bringing a jacket.

I waited the extra 5 minutes and saw Patton running towards me.

“Hey Vi! I’m so sorry that I’m late, I got caught up in something with Roman, but I’m here now, and OHMYGOODNESS @ is so cute! Why don’t you have a jacket, you must be freezing!” Patton was talking a mile a minute.

“It’s fine, I totally understand, I was a couple minutes late myself, I know @ is adorable, and I’m fine,” I answered, trying to keep my voice from quaking or stop myself from coughing. 

“Are you sure? I have an extra jacket in my car, you can take my hoodie,” Patton looked actually concerned.

“N-no, I’m fine,” I couldn’t stop my voice from shaking that time.

“Sure,” Patton deadpanned while taking off his hoodie. He then threw it at me. “Put it on,” he said, with no room for negotiation. I sighed and put it on. It hung over my frame, way too large for me. “Why don’t we walk to my car together and get my extra jacket,” Patton suggested. I stood up and nodded, so we started walking.

“How long have you actually been here?” Patton asked, and I looked at him shocked. “What? I’m an investigator, I know tells for when people are lying.”

“I have been at the park for about 20 or so minutes,” I answered after a second.

“And how long have you been outside?” Patton asked.

“Hm, I’d say nearly half an hour,” I replied.

“Why don’t we sit in my car for a little and warm up,” Patton suggested in a tone that said that I really didn’t have a choice.

“Sure, whatever,” I sighed as we approached his car. Patton opened his passenger side door for me, and @ hopped inside. I also sat down in the car, and Patton made his way into the driver's seat. As soon as he sat down, @ crawled over to his lap and plopped down, Patton squealed.

“Oh my goodness, she is so precious,” he laughed, “does she like me?” he asked.

“I mean, she likes everyone, and loves attention, but I think she likes you, normally she doesn’t lick people unless they have treats, and I’m pretty sure someone allergic to cats would not have cat treats,” I answered as @ started licking his hand.

“You’re right about that one, I have no treats, hey, do you think you could take a picture of me and @ to make my boyfriends jealous?” Patton asked.

“Ah, so you are dating, I wondered why Logan didn’t say anything when I joked about you guys dating,” I replied, pulling out my phone and bringing up the camera. “Hey @, wanna take a picture?” @ immediately went still, and Patton squealed, putting a hand on her back. I took the picture.

“Oh my goodness, she is such an angel!” Patton squealed, beginning to pet her again.

“Oh yeah, such an angel, wonder if you could still say that when she destroys your home every time you leave her alone for too long,” I whispered under my breath.

“What was that?” Patton asked.

“Oh, nothing,” I replied, reaching out and petting the little ‘angel’.

“Ok…” Patton sounded skeptical, but didn’t question it.

We sat in the car for an undetermined amount of time before Patt suggested that we went and got some warm drinks. I agreed, and then he offered to drive. I reluctantly agreed. 

We got to the only cafe we both knew that allowed pets and wandered inside. Patton got hot cocoa and I got a black coffee. Patton managed to pay before I did. We sat and drank for a while, and Patton offered to drive me home. I was not looking forward to walking home, so I agreed. He drove me home and I fed @ before sitting on my couch and listening to conspiracy theories instead of sleeping.

**(and here i realize that i forgot a whole plot point that was supposed to be in this chapter, uhh, patt was supposed to invite vivi to a movie night, can we just pretend that patt texted virgil about the movie night so i dont have to- oh wait, nvm i have an idea lol)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The collection begins, Patton is never getting his hoodie back


	11. New Guy, New Conversations

A new regular started coming in, mainly on weekdays. His name was Seth, and he was pretty chill. He worked at a printing company, mainly managing emails, so he liked to do his work out of the office, and liked the cafe for its “homey feel.”

He had long ashy blond hair and always wore a fancy trench coat of sorts. I wasn’t gonna judge, you know. 

At first, when I met him, he was friendly in a polite way, ordering politely, telling me to also have a good day, but we soon delved into small talk.

We actually had a lot in common, we both loved cats, but who doesn’t, lived in shitty apartments, and were very boring. Our shared insomnia, and pale as fuck skin also brought us together. One of the only things we didn’t share similar opinions on was the fact that he hated his job, and I loved my job. He actually told me that he would rather work at the cafe, but didn’t really feel like quitting and having to deal with his boss, so he just continued with his work.

We didn’t actually talk all that much, but when we were both bored out of our minds, neither of us really minded enjoying each other's company. 

We started to gossip about the other regulars together, even more than I did with Remy, mainly because Remy’s life was actually interesting, so half the time I was living vicariously through Remy’s experiences instead of actually talking about the other regulars. We talked about how sweet the sketching girl was, how nice it was to talk to Mecan. It was nice to share my opinions about other customers with someone who was around as much as I was. As much as talking to the other customers was nice, talking to Seth was a whole other experience. We didn’t need the formalities. It was easy to just confide in him. Our small talk was very quickly full-blown conversations. It was… nice.

The only thing was, he never seemed to be around when the group of investigators were, so they didn’t know about him. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to tell them about him, it’s just that I always got too caught up in listening to them talk to really bring him up, because as nice as socializing is, it's nice to sit back and let my introvert take over again.

The Thursday after Patton met @, I attempted to give him back his hoodie, but he refused to take it, saying that he didn’t need it, and told me to just keep it. I sighed and just went with it, not wanting to argue with him. I stayed at the counter that day, having felt like I had been invading the last time, even though Patton tried to convince me to come and sit with them, and it was _hard_ to attempt to say no to his puppy eyes, but I somehow managed, claiming to need to do some work thing that I really didn’t need to do.

The same thing happened for the weeks after meeting Seth. I didn’t like them any less, but just going back to my eavesdropping mindset was comforting in a way I could never understand. I needed it but didn’t want to explain that to them. I’m sure that it looked like I was drawing back from them for some reason, but really, I just needed some time to do what felt comfortable to me, and as much as I wanted to explain that to them, I just didn’t feel like they would understand. **(honestly mood tho)**

The only time I could remember any of the investigators being in the same room as Seth is when Janus decided to pay the cafe a surprise visit. Seth was about to order while we made small talk over the counter when Janus walked in. Janus waved at me and smiled.

“Hey, Janus, wasn’t expecting you to come in today, this is Seth, he has been coming in for a few weeks, he’s pretty cool,” I said as Janus made his way over to the counter.

“Ah, that’s nice,” Janus said, turning over to Seth, “hello, my name is Janus, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Seth looked rather uncomfortable.

“Oh, uh, yeah, it’s… uh… nice to meet you,” Seth replied. I gave him a questioning look.

“Hmm, yes,” Janus gave me a strange look, and Seth pulled me aside.

“Hey, uh, I’m feeling pretty anxious about meeting a new person, I think I need to dip, I apologize, but I’m kinda feeling uncomfortable right now,” he whispered.

“Nah, I get it, go, I will talk to Janus,” I told him with a sympathetic smile. Seth rushed out leaving a confused Janus standing at the counter.

“Sorry, Seth had some meeting or something scheduled last minute, maybe you could catch him another time,” I smiled at Janus, who smiled warmly back.

“Ah, ok, anyway, how are you feeling today?” Janus asked.

“Hm, just normal, not too much going on today, to be honest,” I shrugged.

“Hmm, are… are you… do you want us to leave you alone?” he asked me, looking down sadly.

“No, no, I have just been having way too much social interactions for my poor introverted heart,” I said, posing with one hand over my heart and the other one on my forehead, being very dramatic, “I was in no way trying to pull away, I just… it was comforting to be able to just sit back and listen to conversations instead of being a part of them, and sitting at that table made me feel like I was intruding on something that wasn’t my business, even though I was going to hear what you were saying anyway. I just…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say, feeling myself tearing up and regretting confiding into a man I barely knew.

Janus looked at me for a second before grabbing my hand, pulling me out from behind the counter. He leaned down and pulled me into a hug, a very comforting hug that made me realize just how little I had been touched recently. I shivered despite myself and Janus cooed.

“Why don’t you take a break for a bit and hang out with me, hmm?” he suggested, kindly. I smiled and nodded, letting my coworker know that I needed a break before letting Janus pull me out into the frigid November air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, what do you guys think of seth, also, our poor babey introvert needs some introvert time, and honestly, thats a mood if ive ever written one, are you prepared for the third not-date?


	12. Another Not-Date

We walked around for a bit before settling down at a park bench. I already regretted not grabbing my jacket on the way out. It was freezing, and I only had a long sleeve tee, because our cafe was decently heated. I shivered, hoping Janus didn’t notice.

“So, I’ve seen pictures of your cat, and unfortunately, I have to blame you for Patton now begging for us to get a cat,” Janus said, smirking at me.

“Well, what can I say, @ is amazing, and cats are the best,” I responded, smiling slightly.

“Cats are great, but we had avoided getting any cats because of Patton's allergies and the fact that he was convinced that most hypoallergenic cats are hairless, but now he knows, and you are to blame,” Janus joked.

I shivered again. “He was going to find out eventually, so don’t blame me for owning a cat, @ is precious and I would give her the world,” I replied, hugging myself. Janus draped an arm around me, confusing me slightly. 

“Listen here, you showing him that cat has sped up the process, and now we have to suffer through his constant pictures of hypoallergenic cats, I blame you 100%,” Janus sighed, pulling a very confused me over to his side.

“I mean, he was probably going to find out about her anyway, I talk about her to many of my regulars, he would probably overhear it at some point,” I pointed out, my voice quivering only just slightly. Janus sighed.

“Are you cold?” he asked, looking me in the eyes.

“U-Uhm, no?” I answered, it sounded more like a question. Janus sighed again, pulling off his hoodie and throwing it at me, and then taking the jacket tied around his waist and putting it on. I gave him a strange look.

“Just… put on the hoodie, and don’t worry about giving it back, I have like three just like it,” Janus sighed, not looking at me. I also sighed, and out on the hoodie. If Patton’s was big, Janus’s was giant, hanging completely over my frame.

“Are you sure you don’t want this back?” I asked, eyeing the big tall suspiciously.

“Yeah, it’s fine, it looks cute on you anyways, shortcake,” the guy had the nerve to wink at me. I blushed and pulled the hood over my eyes.

“I am not cute, dude,” I shoved him lightly.

“You’re going to need to push a little harder to get your point across, shortcake,” Janus smirked, stifling a chuckle. I stared at him and sighed, sitting down on the bench. Janus sat next to me again and threw his arm back around me, pulling me closer to his side. I sighed. “Mind if we take a selfie, you look positively adorable, and I think Patton would like to know that you aren’t mad at him?” Janus asked me, and I sighed before speaking.

“Sure, whatever, I don’t really care, but that picture goes nowhere near social media.”

“Sure, if you want to keep your adorable, shortcake self all to us, I don’t think we would mind,” Janus smirked, and I just leaned further into him, feeling a sudden surge of tiredness. He smiled and pulled out his phone, taking a quick selfie and sending it off, but I didn’t really notice, I was practically falling asleep on his side, barely processing anything and not understanding where all fatigue was coming from. Despite my greatest efforts to stay awake, I felt my eyes slip shut. 

I woke up a bit later, we were back in the cafe and I was still leaning on Janus. I didn’t know when or how we got back, but I couldn’t find it in my tired brain to care. It was warm and Janus was comfortable, and I felt like shit. I shifted slightly to look up at the comfortable tall, who smiled lightly down at me.

“Hey, shortcake, you feeling ok? You kinda passed out on me for a bit,” Janus asked, sounding a bit worried.

“Eh, I feel like shit and you're comfortable,” I replied, only about half there.

“Well, that's not good, why don’t we take you home?” Janus asked quietly.

“Nope, it’s too cold outside and you’re too comfortable,” I replied, leaning further into him.

“We can take my car, and then it won't be cold,” Janus suggested.

“My apartment’s heating is shit so I will be cold,” I replied.

“Really, then would you mind me taking you back to my place, you could sleep and be warm, and I’d still be comfortable,” Janus suggested and I nodded into his chest. I got ready to stand up, but Janus’s arms slipped under me and he lifted me, calling out to my coworker that I was sick and needed to take the rest of the day off.

Janus carried me out to his car setting me down in the passenger's seat, and that’s all I remembered of the car ride. The next thing I knew, I was being sat on a couch and Patton had me in his lap as I drifted off again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this chapter is so bad and that its short but its been a week for me and i wasn't feeling very motivated, I'm honestly disappointed in this chapter but I dont want to just not put something out, this chapter may be rewritten later


	13. Sick Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, sorry for the lack of upload on Monday, but the writing demon didnt want to write, so i couldnt write, sorry in advance for the short chapter

I woke up a few hours later, I was being held by Patton. I looked up confused and saw him smiling down at me.

“Mmm- Pat?”

“Yeah, Virge?” Patton replied, moving me slightly so I could look at him with less movement.

“Where am I?” I asked, still feeling rather loopy.

“We are at mine and my boyfriends’ place, kiddo,” Patton replied.

“Why am I here? When did I get here?” I asked.

“Janus brought you here because you were sleeping on him and clearly sick, you also mentioned that your apartment was cold, and we didn’t want you to get worse so he brought you back here,” Patton smiled sympathetically at me.

“Wh-I’m not sick! I need to do my job, I need to go take care of @! I need to go!” I cried, struggling to get out of Patton’s tight grip.

“Hey, no, no, you need to rest, you are clearly sick, and you have a fever, you need to rest!” Patton tightened his hold on me as I struggled, pulling me onto his chest. I would have been bright red if I were in my right mind.

“Paaaattttt I neeeeeed to goooooooo,” I slurred, struggling a bit harder.

“No. ROMAN, CAN YOU COME IN HERE?” Patton called, and Roman walked in, blinking in surprise as he saw me struggling in Patton’s arms.

“Do you need anything?” Roman asked, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Can you please tell Virgil that he needs to rest because he won’t listen to me?” Patton asked him.

Roman looked down and smiled slightly at me. “Virgil, you need rest, if you don’t sleep then you’re never going to get better.”

“I don’t need to get better, I need to work and take care of my cat!” I cried, struggling more. Patton sighed. Roman laughed and made his way over to the couch, sitting next to us, and helping Patton hold me down. I grumbled but reluctantly stopped struggling, somehow ending up laying on top of Roman and my head in Patton's lap, Roman and Patton speaking quietly. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

The next time I opened my eyes, Roman and Patton were asleep, so I stood up, but then decided that I wanted to lay down, so I obviously laid down face first on the floor, and fell asleep again.

The next time I woke up was to someone shouting.

“Virgil!? Are you ok!?” Logan called, looking at me in surprise and slight worry. Patton and Roman woke up and freaked out a bit when they noticed that was no longer on their lap, and then freaked out a bit more when they saw me on the floor. Roman stood up and picked me up.

“Virgil, can you please tell us what happened, stormcloud?” Roman asked me quietly.

“HMmm- I vaguely remember the thought ‘escape’ and then the thought ‘floor’, that’s all I can tell you, man,” I replied, leaning into Roman. Patton laughed.

“Hey, Logan?” Patton asked after calming down.

“Yes, heart?” Logan replied, moving his attention over to Patton.

“Can you take care of Virgil for a bit, me and Roman probably should get up, we have been babysitting him for hours,” Patton said, standing up. Logan nodded and Roman handed me down to Logan. It was strange that they could all just, like, carry me around like I was a child. Logan sat down and set me up a bit as Roman and Patton left the room.

“Hey, Virge, do you want to watch T.V. or something, you must be bored just sitting down all the time,” Logan was clearly pulling at his strings. I buried myself in his chest. 

“Just put on a documentary or something, the voices are relaxing and it’s nice to listen to facts sometimes,” I suggested, closing my eyes to spare my already aching head. When did I get that headache?

“Sure, any in mind?” Logan asked me, grabbing the remote.

“Something about space or some shit, I don’t care,” I grumbled, head aching more. Logan turned on some space documentary and typed something onto his phone. A few minutes later, the light was turned off and someone pecked Logan, and I drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry for the short chapter, and sorry that this had to be in 2 parts, writing demon wast very nice to me this week, ill try to get it working again, but no promises


	14. Sick Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeeyyy, i hit the 1k word mark with this one! yay writing demon

I woke up when someone plopped down next to me and Logan, pulling me off his lap. I looked up and saw Remus. I studied his face. He and Roman were Hispanic and he had tan skin. His eyes were hazel, and he had a baby mustache above his upper lip. His light brown hair was shaved down the sides and he had fading green dye in it. He was… attractive, to say the least. I buried myself into his jacket, and he started to rub my back. 

Someone else came and sat down next to Logan. I looked up and saw Janus. Janus was mixed and had slightly darker skin than Remus. He had dark brown shaggy hair, and vitiligo on the side of his face, going down his neck. He had a honey eye, and his other eye was milky and white, he was probably blind in that eye. He sighed, studying me before leaning down and kissing Logan on the cheek, whispering something in his ear. Very pleasant to look at.

I turned my gaze over to Logan. Logan was Asian, had as pale of skin as me, but he didn’t quite look as strange as I did with my white skin. He had dark, almost black eyes, hidden behind a pair of rectangular glasses. His black hair was short and neat, gelled back into place, almost every hair perfect. He looked cold, but on closer inspection, you could see the warmth and admiration in his eyes when he looked at his loves.

Remus continued to rub my back as he began speaking quietly with the others, and at that moment, I realized I was really thirsty. I wriggled out of his grasps, his protests falling on deaf ears, and walked out of the room, narrowly avoiding walking into a wall, and wandered aimlessly, trying to find the kitchen. I walked into a room with a large table and spotted Patton.

Patton was African American and had rather dark skin and dark eyes hiding behind his large, circular glasses. He had an adorable rounded face and dimples when he smiled. He had curly hair, bleached blonde in a way that made him look utterly amazing.

Patton stood and was by my side, grabbing me in moments, and then, Remus and Janus walked into the room.

“Why was Virgil walking around alone?” Patton asked the taller boys.

“He escaped my grasp and left, it took us a couple of moments to realize what happened and that he was here because he was sick and didn’t live here like the rest of us,” Remus explained, sheepishly.

Patton sighed. “Virgil, honey, is there a specific reason you got up?” Patton asked, turning to me.

I short-circuited for a moment. “Water? Mmmm, water sounds good,” I mumbled.

“Ok, ok, we will get you water, why don’t you go back to the couch with Remus and Janus and sit down while I get you some water and maybe some food?” Patton suggested, and I almost agreed.

“Mmmm ok- wait, where is Roman? He lives here, right? Is he busy, he’s pretty and nice,” I giggled, and Patton tensed around me, looking shocked up at Janus and Remus.

“You wanna see Roman? Ok, Roman was just writing for a bit, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sitting with you, honey,” Patton calmly said, but I started panicking.

“Oh no! No, no, no! He’s doing something important, he needs to do the important thing, what if he puts it off on caring about _me_ and fails the important thing, he should just do the important thing!” I nodded to myself.

“Virgil, shortcake,” Janus started, “Roman writes for fun, he won't fail, or be mad that you want to see him, he likes talking to you, as we all do, and wants to make sure your ok, it will be fine, I’m sure he’ll be delighted to see you,” Janus finished, smiling down at me.

I looked up at him and smiled, and then giggled, and then bolted past them back towards the area where the couch was. There were some confused shouts and someone shouted for Logan or Roman to grab me. I almost made it safely back to the couch when someone lifted me off my feet. I looked up and saw Roman.

Roman also had tan skin, hazel eyes, and light brown hair, but Romans was more messy in a stylish way, unlike Remus’s wild hair. He didn’t have any of it shaved, and also lacked the mustache. He did, however, have a scar above from above his eyebrow down to his mid-cheek on the left side. It was mega badass. He had warm eyes, and an even warmer smile, almost as open and friendly as Patton’s, it made me feel safe. I giggled again, speaking up to the nice man.

“I think Patton and Remus and Janus are jealous because I called you pretty, but your all pretty, like, really, really, pretty, and nice, and kind, and care way too much about my dumb ass,” I laughed as Roman sputtered. Roman carried me over to the couch, sitting down with a tight grip on my waist, calling out to tell the others that he got me. I reached out and grabbed Logan, pulling out his arm and then sliding my hand into his. It was very grounding.

Logan looked from the hand to my face multiple times and Roman laughed. Logan sputtered for a moment, and then Patton entered with the other tall bois. I let go of Logan and let Roma turn me around to face the T.V. I grabbed the water from Patton and started drinking slowly.

“Do you feel up to eating, kiddo?” Patton asked me.

I thought for a moment before shaking my head and leaning back into Roman more, continuing to drink slowly until my eyes grew very heavy and I felt someone take the glass from me. I fell back into a fitful sleep. It kept on being like that for who knows how long, I’d wake up, do weird shit, go back to sleep, rinse and repeat until I woke up and felt fine, but also like completely embarrassed of what I said and did. After Patton confirmed I was ok, Patton drove me home, and I immediately fed @ and then screamed into my pillow as @ nuzzled me affectionately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry its kinda bad, but i like wanted to actually describe the characters in this one, so i did, other than virgil, so i will here, virgil had shaggy but short raven hair, pale af skin, and forest green eyes, he also is a very tired boi and never wears short sleeves. wanna complain to me about plot holes and shitty writing? do it at my tumblr, maybe then i will actually start using it! ;-; https://idkwatoputheretbh.tumblr.com/ or dont, i dont really give a shit, but its an easy way to contact me or some shit.


	15. Bigots and Martial Arts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooow my demon is working again!

A few days later, I stood back at my cafe, the first couple days I was back was full of concerned friends wondering where I had been. The group of confused and concerned friends included Seth, who was apparently worried sick for me. We spent a few hours catching up, and then Seth left for his weekly meeting. I still thought that it sucked that Seth had meetings while the talls were at the cafe, but it was what it was.

But there I was, standing behind the counter as a man spouted his bigoted nonsense.

“Can you believe that they let _homosexuals_ in places like this?” the guy asked me.

“U-uhm, they are just trying to live?” I responded, it sounded more like a question, my anxiety causing me to freeze. Seth shot me a sympathetic look.

“They are _just trying to live_ a life of sin that’s going to send them to hell!” the man nearly yelled. I felt my eyes widen.

“Can you please order?” I asked, proud of myself for not having my voice quiver.

“Ugh, what ever, can I just get a [insert item here]? Please?” the man huffed.

“Sure, I’ll get that started for you right away!” I said, customer service voice kicking in as I went to go make the man's coffee. It was probably at that point that he noticed my rainbow pin on my apron.

“So that’s why you defended them, you _fslur_ **(yeah, im not typing that)**!” the man shouted and I sighed, my initial reaction to freeze after the surprise of the man spilling his blatant bullshit at me out of nowhere gone.

“Listen sir, just let me get you your coffee and you can leave and never come back for all I care,” I replied as I began making the coffee.

“How dare you speak to a customer that way! I could have your job! How do you think your boss would react to you being so rude to a valued customer?” the man spouted more bullshit. It was at that point that Seth decided to speak up.

“He would be totally justified and his boss wouldn’t care because you are harassing him,” Seth stated, standing up.

“Oh? Are you a _fslur_ too?” the man asked Seth.

“I would appreciate you didn’t make assumptions about me, and I’d really appreciate it if you stopped using that word,” Seth said, walking closer to us.

“I can use whatever language I choose, it’s a free country and we have a right to free speak,” the man shot back.

“Would you use the n-word then?” I piped up.

“No! That’s utterly disrespectful, even if the damn creatures deserve it,” the man replied, mumbling the last part. That was the last straw and I was about to ask him to leave when something snapped in Seth’s eyes, and he punched the guy right in the face, hard. I stood shocked as the man tried to swing back and Seth skillfully grabbed the man's punch out of the air, twisting the man's arm behind his back.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d leave,” Seth stated.

“I do not have to leave! You just assaulted me!” the man cried.

“Please, leave,” I said coldly, “you’re no longer welcomed in this cafe, please leave before we have to take rash measures.”

Seth let the man go and he scrambled out the door, mumbling angrily.

“You shouldn’t have punched him, you could get in trouble,” I said quietly after the man left.

“I know, I made an impulsive decision,” Seth replied, looking down.

“Yeah, but, it was super cool, though,” I laughed at the way Seth’s eyes shot up to me. “You have to have practiced a while to be that good,” I smiled at him, a smile he returned.

“Yeah, I have taken some martial arts classes over the years,” he laughed.

He smiled before an alarm went off on his phone, one we were both sadly aware of the meaning of.

“Hey, I’m sorry, gotta go, don’t want to be late to the meeting, I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” Seth called as he started walking out of the cafe. I smiled warmly.

“Yeah, tomorrow,” I called after him.

I was only alone for a few minutes before the talls came in. I smiled at them.

“Hello, Virgil, how was your day?” Logan greeted me politely.

“Could have been better, Seth got into a fight with a bigot who threatened to get me fired for not putting up with his bigoted bullshit,” I replied, calmly.

“Language!” and an array of “What?!”s could be heard all at the same time.

“How dare someone do that to you!” Roman cried, very dramatically.

“I’ll bust their kneecaps with a baseball bat,” Remus finished right after Roman, earning a disgusted look.

“No need, Seth hit him _hard_ ,” I replied, nonchalantly. “He’s taken years of martial arts classes, apparently,” I finished.

“Well, I am glad he got what was coming to him, but why don’t we order and then you can come sit with us?” Logan suggested. I smiled.

“Hello, and what can I get for you today?” I asked in my customer service voice. Patton snorted and gave me a light slap on the arm. They ordered, and we moved over to their table. They talked about their week, and I sat quietly and listened, as it normally was. I smiled as we fell into our usual routine.

It ended up being so slow that I didn’t ever need to get back up and do my job for the rest of my shift and we ended up heading over to the park. Remus claimed that last time I said that I would rather be carried on his back with a little warning next time, and so he warned me and could pick me up. I sighed and resigned myself to my fate and let Remus carry me, although, that time, Remus had his boyfriends to stop him from sprinting, and he just carried me on his back.

We stayed at the park until it started to get dark, when I shivered and claimed that I should head home. Roman immediately shed his hoodie and chucked it at me, telling me to keep it and that he had a car and wouldn’t be cold on his way home. I sighed as I put it on and headed home.

Once I got home and sat on the couch, I felt my phone buzz. I looked down and saw that it was a text from Remus.

**ratman:** _*image*_

Remus sent me the fucking girl sitting on a couch meme. I laughed and thought about how much I loved those dorks… wait.. What!? I loved them? Oh my god, I loved them.

**v:** _🖕_

I sighed and shut my phone off, sinking into the couch, and sinking into the sorrows that I was in love with 5 people already in a relationship, and also the fact that it was a _meme_ that tipped me off about my feelings. I sighed again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seth walked down the street in the dark. He walked past a pet shop. Looking in the window, he saw some kittens. He let his head hang low.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered before moving on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyy so? the idea of the meme wasn't mine, it was WantedButcher's, go show them some love please, they are great and had a fantastic idea!


	16. Oh No! It's A Cat-tastrophe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: graphic? descriptions of injury, minor character death, mental breakdown, blood, animal death

I woke up early one morning a few days later. Something felt off. I walked into my kitchen and looked around, nothing looked off. In the dim light I could see @ sleeping in her bed. It was funny because the lack of light made her look slightly tinted red. I walked over to the door, it all looked fine. I walked into the living room to wake @ up to eat so I could get ready and then I screamed.

@ looked wrong, her limb seemed to be pointing in wrong directions, they all seemed snapped, her head was bashed in, it was _wrong_. I turned on the light. It got so much worse. She was stabbed multiple times, and bleeding really bad. I felt the tears running down my face. I stared blindly for a second before fumbling for my phone. When I got it out, I called Patton.

 _”Hey kiddo, whats up? It’s pretty early”_ Patton chuckled. I stayed silent. _”Kiddo? Is everything alright?”_

Eventually, after a couple seconds of trying to coax an answer out of me, I sobbed.

 _”Virgil, kiddo? Can you tell me what’s going on?”_ Patton asked.

“A-@,” was my response.

 _”Did @ run away?”_ Patton questioned. I just sobbed harder.

“Patton, @ is dead!” I wailed. Patton gasped.

 _“Are you sure, what happened?”_ Patton asked in a rushed but calm voice.

“I woke up and something felt off, I went to go and check on everything and when I went to her-her,” I sobbed a bit more, “when I went to her bed, I found her beaten and bloodied, her skull was smashed in Patton! How did this happen?” I continued to cry.

“Someone broke into your house and beat your cat to death while you were asleep?” Patton asked.

“I guess, how else would this have happened?” At that point I sunk down to the ground as more sobs racked my body.

“Hey kiddo?” Patton asked, “I’m gonna bring everyone over to your house and then we are going to take you back to our place, ok?” Patton suggested.

“O-o-ok,” I eventually managed to speak through my sobs. Patton stayed on the phone with me as he got everyone up and ready to come over to my place. I stayed sitting on the floor and sobbing, listening to Patton talk until he had to get into the car to drive, at that point, he handed the phone off to Roman.

“Hey, Virge, how you holding up?” Roman asked me, and I just continued to sob. “Yeah, yeah, that’s fair, we are going to be over there soon, ok?” I still couldn’t stop sobbing. Roman talked calmly the entire time they were on their way. It wasn’t anything that could really console me, but it was nice to hear him ramble.

I soon heard Roman tell me that they were heading in. I still found myself unable to say anything. I found a pair of arms wrapped around me and was turned and Patton pulled me into his chest, where I continued to sob. I vaguely heard Logan speaking to the police as Patton lifted me off the ground, carrying me out of the apartment. Patton sat us down in the driver's seat of his car, with me, still sobbing, in his lap. He ran a comforting hand through my hair and rubbed my back as he whispered calm assurances to me.

Eventually, Roman joined us in the car, sitting in the backseat and told us that Remus, Logan, and Janus could deal with the police and that we should return to their house. I was too exhausted from crying and too out of it to turn them down, and so Patton moved me to the backseat with Roman, who held my still shaking form and let me lean into him. It was a pretty silent trip, other than my occasional sob or hiccup.

Once we got back to their place, Roman and Patton snuggled with me on the couch where I eventually passed out, letting the darkness pull me away from the pain of awakeness. 

When I woke up, Remus, Janus, and Logan were back and talking quietly with Patton and Roman. At first, I was confused, wondering if I had gotten sick again, but then it all came and hit me really fast. “Oh god…” I whispered to myself, still a little bit in shock. Patton looked over at me and smiled sympathetically, opening his arms in an offering I would have been damned to turn up. I rushed forwards into his welcoming arms and let him rub my back. I wanted to cry again, so, so bad, but the tears didn’t come, instead, I just shook in Patton’s strong, warm, arms.

I felt someone join the hug, and looked up into Janu’s kind eyes. He smiled down at me, and I reberried my face into the crook of Patton’s neck. Eventually, I moved away from Patton’s arms and stared blankly at the floor. Someone tapped my shoulder and I looked and saw Logan holding out a glass of water for me.I quietly thanked him and started to drink the water in small sips. They left me alone for a few more minutes, but I only barely made a dent in the cup before Logan cleared his throat. I looked up at him and he spoke.

“You heard nothing last night, correct?” Logan asked me. I quietly shook my head.

“You didn’t?” Logan asked again and I quietly replied.

“I heard nothing last night.”

“Then, it is likely that the person responsible for this lured @ out of the house before killing her,” Logan said, looking at his partners, who seemed to agree. 

“@ doesn’t like going outside, not in her harness, so he would have probably had to put it on to get her out, but it looked like the harness was fine on the hanger,” I replied quietly.

“Hm, maybe he took it off before killing her, or maybe he killed her before she could make any noise, poisoning her or something,” Janus suggested.

“That is a possibility. On an unrelated note, this person was able to break into Virgil’s home without being detected, it would probably be in our best interest to not have Virgil stay at his home for a while,” Remus added.

I sighed and nodded my head. The talls continued to ask me questions about what I remembered, and then we sat silently again. At that point, I was fully leaning into Remus, and he had his warm arms wrapped securely around my waist. I leaned a little more into him, closing my eyes in hopes to dull the small ache that was forming in my head. Eventually, Roman spoke up.

“Virgil, do you have anywhere to stay?” He asked me. I looked up at him, sighed, and nodded, before realizing something.

“I have somewhere to stay, but I won't be able to go there immediately,” I replied after a minute.

“Ok, well, until you can go wherever you are going, you are welcome here,” Logan said, and I nodded, curling into Remus a bit more.

Soon after that, I excused myself from the couch, leaving the room and pulling out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts for a bit before I found the number I wanted to call. I pressed the call button, and he picked up on the third ring.

 _“Heya buddy, what’s up?”_ a cheery voice asked from the other side of the call.

“Hey dad…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyy guyss, so, i want to make it kinda clear, @ was pretty much always going to die, before it was going to be of cancer, but then I actually got a direction to go with this story, I know that i said that it was going to be mainly fluffy, but the angst gremlin took me over, and now its angsty, sorry not sorry, please dont kill me ;-;


	17. So I got fanart?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok? I got fanart? OH MY GOD

[Im sorry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryingIsFun)

[I love you so much???](https://drawingsdailyy.tumblr.com/)

Go show this beautiful person so much love, because, i literally cant with the want to crush this person with my love and hugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this art is from CryingIsFun or DrawingsDaily


	18. Safe?

I told my dad what happened, and he and my uncle welcomed me into their home. I got a plane ticket down to Florida as soon as I could, but to be able to afford it, I was going to have to wait 2 weeks. The talls welcomed me into their home until I could go to my father, which I was grateful for. My boss let me take a personal break, which was amazing, and I was set. I was going to be staying with my dad for a few weeks, about a month and a half, and then I was going to come back and head back to work. Everything was set, and I was just going to take a little break from my life before coming back. This time, just without my best friend.

I felt myself tearing up as I sat on the couch. I was going to be by myself for another half an hour, and so I just let myself go. I lost my best friend, the only one who I trusted with anything, because I was too asleep to save her. It was my fault she died. If I had woken up to stop the person, maybe they would have left, and I could have moved and protected @. But I slept instead. For some reason, I decided to sleep that night, and I couldn’t save @. For whatever reason, I decided not to listen to conspiracy theories and laugh while being with my best friend. Why did I do that? 

I hadn’t been able to sleep soundly since it happened. I couldn’t keep my eyes closed enough to fall asleep, the guilt and paranoia pulling me out of the spare room and onto the couch to stare blankly at the wall more times than I could count.

I sat and stared at the wall for a while, crying openly, when suddenly the door opened. I jumped a little bit, and looked over to see Logan standing at the door. Logan looked at me shocked for a moment before a small sympathetic smile made its way to his face. He put his bag down by the door and walked slowly over to me, sitting down by me on the couch. He shifted a bit and opened his arms in offering, and I gladly took it, burying myself in his chest.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized weakly.

“Whatever for?” Logan asked me, clearly confused.

“I… I’m just being so weak right now, it’s my fault she died anyway,” I replied softly.

“Virgil, it is in no way that it is your fault that someone murdered @, that was their decision, they decided to be an asshole, none of that is your fault,” Logan said, just as softly as I had.

“But, if I was awake, or not as deeply asleep, I would have been able to save her,” I cried quietly.

“Or, they would have killed you both, you are lucky that they did not do anything to you or steal anything,” Logan replied, and I realized something.

“Why did they kill her and do nothing else? Does someone really hate me enough to want to kill my cat just to torture me?” I sobbed into Logan’s chest.

“I...I don’t know the answer to that, I am sorry,” Logan said after a few seconds.

I sobbed quietly for a bit, and Logan started rubbing my back comfortingly. I relaxed a bit, and let Logan shift us so we were laying down, where I laid my head back on his chest and let my eyes fall closed.

I did not sleep a wink, but I let my eyes rest, I felt Logan slowly begin to fall asleep, breaths evening out, heartbeat slowing. I laid, relaxing on him for a while before I heard the door open. I wanted to open my eyes, greet the person, but I couldn’t. My body refused to work. I heard Roman chuckle softly and felt a blanket being draped over us. It was fluffy and warm, a very comforting texture. I felt a little bit safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for another short chapter, my writing demon wants to take a vacation, there will probably be a few more shorter chapters, maybe, but it will pick up the pace again soon, promise :)


	19. Uncle Thomas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mm i feel bad about making you all wait so long, so you get this chapter on a tuesday
> 
> tw: sadness, talk of animal death, talk of break in, talk of hatred, kidnapping, talk of dealers of illegal things, weapons mentions

I stood outside the door to my uncle's house. I took a deep breath. I knocked on the door. It opened, showing my uncle.

“Virgil! Come give Uncle Thomas a big hug,” Thomas laughed, opening his arms. I tucked myself into his arms and he began rubbing my back. “I heard about @, I’m really sorry buddy,” Thomas whispered into my hair.

“Yeah, it sucks, I really miss her,” I sighed, feeling the tears start welling up in my eyes.

“Well, let’s get your stuff inside, your dad is out of the house right now, so why don’t we sit down and talk for a bit after you unpack?” Thomas suggested. I smiled and nodded.

I walked up the stairs and into the guest bedroom, putting my bag down and sitting on the bed. I looked around me, and let everything hit me. And hit me it did. Less than a week ago, I was sitting happily with my cat, we were fine, I was working happily, everything was happy, I was sorting out my feelings for the talls, and now, I’m here, living with my uncle and dad for a month because my cat was murdered. Someone hated me enough to break into my house and kill my cat. They did it to hurt me. They did it to _hurt me_. Who the hell did I piss off enough to want to break me like this? Why didn’t they just kill me? I felt tears welling in my eyes again, and they started spilling down my cheeks.

Thomas peeked his head into my room, took one look at me, and rushed over to the bed, wrapping his arms around me again. “Oh, buddy, what’s up?” he asked me.

“Someone hates me enough to want to kill my cat, Thomas, what did I do to anyone? Why did they take it out on her?” I cried harder.

“People are complicated, I can’t say I know why they took it out on @, but it wasn’t the best thing to do, was it?” Thomas rubbed my back. “Why don’t we go watch a movie to relax a bit and get your mind off it, hm?”

“Yeah, yeah, that sounds good,” I leaned into him a bit.

We got up and moved to the couch, snuggling on one side as we watched movies. We started with The Black Cauldron, and then went from there, watching anything from Disney, to shitty straight people movies, and then at some point switched to watching The Office. 

The door opened, and my dad came and joined us. I was in bliss for a bit, forgot about @ and just lived in the moment. Then, I fell asleep, and my dreams were plagued with nightmares. I shot awake, and my dad smiled at me sadly, making me some tea. We sat and talked for a while, eventually going back to sleep.

That happened practically every night. I would shoot awake from nightmares, and my dad or Thomas would be there to help me out, make me some tea, and talk. It was nice, but I felt really bad about keeping them awake and making them help me. 

The month seemed to fly by us. I would hang out with my dad at home during the day while Thomas worked, and then we would watch movies at night, and I would wake up in the middle of the night. Then, it was time to leave. I knew I was going to have to come back eventually, but it came up so soon, I almost wasn’t ready. But I was, and I had to be.

I waved goodbye as I walked out the door to my Uber. I got into the car and told the driver to take me to the airport. We got there a little earlier than expected, which was good, helped my anxiety a little bit. I got through security fine and made my way over to my gate. As it turned out, my flight was delayed a few hours, so I sat for a bit, ate some food, got a soft drink.

After a while, I had to go to the bathroom, so I got up to go to the bathroom. A few men also got up, and followed me, it made me paranoid, but that’s all it was, I was being paranoid, I tried to convince myself, other people can also have to use the restroom. I was going to be fine.

I walked into the restroom, and they did too. One of them blocked the door. Now that scared me. Another one moved in front of me. 

“I’m sorry kid, this has nothing to do with you, you’re close to them, that isn’t your fault, but we need you for this,” the guy in front of me spoke. I was very confused and scared at that point. 

“I’m sorry wha-” a rag was put over my mouth before I could finish my sentence, I struggled, but the world was getting darker and darker. Eventually, I blacked out.

Patton was getting worried. Virgil was supposed to be back a week ago, but he wasn’t there, he was going to start up working at the cafe again as soon as he got back, but none of them had seen or heard from him at all since a few days before he was supposed to come back. They decided to contact Virgil’s dad to see if he had any clue where Virgil was or if he decided to stay longer. His dad had no idea that Virgil wasn’t there. He said he never got an “I got home safe text,” but he assumed it was because Virgil was too tired and then work probably took over his life again. 

Patton was a lot more worried, and convinced Janus and Remus to come to his house to look for clues to who might have broken in, or any clues to his whereabouts.

When they got there, the door was unlocked, which was even more worrying. They began searching around the apartment, Patton was looking through a drawer when Remus called him and Janus over with a very worried tone. In his hand was a note, which Patton took and read aloud.

“Dear Little group of investigators, we know you are going to come here to look for your little pet, so we graciously decided to leave you a note to quell your worries. We have Virgil, he is ‘safe and sound’ here at our headquarters. We did not appreciate you busting our weapons provider, so, we decided to hold up the eye for an eye. You take our dealer, we take your pet. If you want him to survive this, if you ever want to see him again, then you better hop off our trail. -Impressora”

“Oh shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OoOOooOoooh virgie has gone and gotten himself kidnapped, mmm... and to make it better, its the talls fault
> 
> sorry for not updating for so long, i just have had no motivation to write anything really recently, so, uhm, sorry if its not as good
> 
> also that note is shit, but i couldnt think of what to say, i may redo it later, or i may be disappointed in it for the rest of my life :)


	20. Hey, sorry again guys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCK

hey, just a heads up, no update until next friday because my charging cord decided to fuck off again for the third time this summer, so...

uhh...

there are going to be kittens in the future to hopefully make up for @ and umm this,

love you guys sm, i really appreciate yall taking the time to read this, i will see yall next friday <3<3<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im slowly dying inside


	21. Captivity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: captivity, mentions of not sleeping, stuff like that, if i miss anything, lmk please, im really tired

I got used to captivity. I wasn’t restrained, which was good for my anxiety, but I was always alone in silence, which was not. When I first woke up, I had a huge panic attack, ended up passing out again. When I woke again, I decided that staying awake was better. I wouldn’t know what was happening to me if I was asleep, so I dedicated myself to not sleep. From the amount of meals I got, I would say I made it 3 days before one of the walls slid open, and someone came to my form that was pushing itself as far into a corner as possible and gave me some sort of sedative. I guess they got tired of my constant awakeness. Or, they wanted to do something while I was asleep? Possibly.

The people were not generally rude, overly polite, really, every time they gave me another meal, they assured me that the reason I was there was out of my control and that I was not at all at fault.

I never left that empty room, although, after a few hours of the first day, I found a sliding door that led into a simple restroom, nothing in it other than a toilet and a sink, but it was still nice to have. The room stayed empty until that third day of my refusal to sleep, when I woke to there being a mattress in the room, which was also nice. I spent most of my time on the mattress or sitting in a corner, contemplating my existence, wondering if anyone had realized I was gone.

By the time I heard any news at all from the outside world was after I gave up keeping track of the time, it was meal time, and I heard a gruff voice from outside the slot that my food was pushed through. “You were filed as a missing person today, people are actually going to be looking for you now, I’m surprised it honestly took this long, I would have thought that they would’ve had you on a tighter leash.” The slot slid closed and I was left alone to my thoughts.

I normally ate fast, moving the plates back to where they were pushed in, and they would be taken back out the next time I got food. Life was honestly bleak, until I was taken out of the room by multiple people with guns. _This is it, this is the moment I die_ I thought as they walked me down a hallway.

They were not ‘hoping off their trail’, if anything, they were so much more ‘on their trail’ now then before. 

Logan knew who they were talking about. A man who he had caught illegally selling weapons and firearms. What he didn’t know was that he was a provider to a criminal organization.

They tried to question the man in question, but it failed. He refused to give any information on ‘Impressora’ or on any way to find Virgil. They were at a seeming dead end. Then the video came.

A hidden email address emailed Patton an unlisted video.

The video opened up to a small, dark, room, with a just as small, and dark, barista sitting in the middle.

_Virgil's eyes were wide and bounced around the room, as if trying to figure out where he was. His eyes didn’t meet the camera for a few seconds. When he did, the fear gradually faded out of his eyes, turning more into a look of sadness. A voice boomed around the room._

_”Why don’t you wave hello to the camera, Virgil?” the voice suggested._

What Virgil did do was probably stupid, but it did crack up the talls who were watching it.

_Virgil flipped off the camera and whoever was behind it._

_”That was rather disrespectful, wasn’t it, Virgil,” the voice boomed._

_”Yeah, and so is kidnapping, wouldn’t you say?” Virgil asked._

_”Touche, anyways, we know that you are looking for your… little pet, and we just wanted to give you a bit more information,” the voice moved topics, “we have your pet because you have our man, that much I trust had been made clear, we will be keeping your pet for a good while to make sure that you stop following us, but trust us, if you do, your pet will be returned to you eventually and no harm will come to him, but if you don’t, we cannot keep our end of the bargain, thank you, good day. Virgil, wave goodbye to your little friends,” Virgil actually did wave this time, “now, we bid you adieu.”_

The video ended.

“Well, we can try to search for a match to that voice and study the video to see if we can find anything,” Logan said coolly, trying to conceal his emotional turmoil.

And that is what they did. The voice, not surprisingly, was the product of voice changing, and was no help, and the room had nothing that would help them. Dead end. This was not going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, sorry this came out so late in the day, i fell asleep earlier and didnt finish the chapter


	22. The Cafe + a little note from me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for updating so late, i legitimately forgot the day of the week .. :/
> 
> Tw: slight starvation, mental breakdown, isolation, character change, going crazy, hallucinations (auditory), stalking themes, guns, violence, bleeding, and lmk if i forgot anything or you need me to add anything, Thanks :)

Seth took me back to my room. When I saw him… I felt so betrayed. I considered him a close friend, it was so hard to know that everything we had was fake, all a ploy to learn about me. It sucked. It all sucks. I just wanted to go home, wake up and realize it was all a nightmare, but I couldn’t, because it isn’t a nightmare. @ is dead, I was kidnapped, Seth was never truly my friend.

Once back in my room,I fell into routine again. Having the set routine helped keep me a bit calmer, but it also made it take longer for me to realize meals were coming fewer and farther in between. They were starving me. Isn’t that a scary thought. They gave me enough food to only be mildly uncomfortable, but still. They were starving me. I can only assume that it was because something happened in the real world that made them mad. It was kinda sad.

People stopped talking to me while dropping off food too, leaving me more alone than before. I think I started going crazy. I heard the voices of the people I loved. I heard Remy, his casual tone I knew so well from all the gossip quickly morphing into a scream of pain and fear. Emile, his sweet voice while we spoke softly about anything and everything crying out, begging for it to stop, pleading for help. Uncle Thomas, his light tone while we joked being cut off by something loud. My dad and his soft whispers of reassurances becoming more and more unsure until they turned into pessimistic derogatory nothings. And the screaming. Oh god, all the screaming. I found myself laying on the mattress covering my ears, trying desperately to block everything out.

I eventually lost all motivation to do anything, to get up, eat, drink sleep. It was all too much for me. I just wanted to lay and forget that anything ever happened. I only wanted to sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw @. Her beautiful body broken and destroyed in her bed. It was too much, I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t handle it.

I got off my ass and started pacing again, did anything to keep my eyes open, anything to keep me from thinking of her. It hurt so bad. I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to be with my family and friends again. Why did it have to be me? Why couldn’t they have chosen another of the talls friends? Then again, I felt it better me than anyone else, I hoped that nobody else I knew ever had to go through this. It was an empty hope, but it was something to hold onto. Anything to hold onto.

The not eating started to get to me. I felt weaker and weaker. Getting up was harder and harder. Walking became impossible. The voices all grew louder. I just wanted them to shut up and leave me alone. Why wouldn’t they leave me alone? I felt more and more in pain by the minute, everything hurt. Standing was impossible. Everything was impossible, but I had to keep my eyes open. I couldn’t think of her. I saw the darkness flood my vision and let the calming darkness take me into its warm embrace.

Remus was stressed. They were no closer to finding Virgil than they had been before. There were no leads. There were no suspects. It was like he just vanished.

We decided to search his workplace again, to see if there was anything we missed. Anything at all. Remus and Roman walked in, the place seemed darker, sadder without Virgil there. Even the guests were sullen and less lively, though that could do with the picture of the happy looking Virgil smiling at them on the sign at the counter asking if anyone had any information on him. Remus wanted to cry every time he saw that stupid sign.

They went into the back room and asked the owner if they could see the security footage again. They looked and saw the same thing they had every other time they looked. Virgil spent a while talking to a random guy, (which Remus would be a liar if he said that seeing that didn’t make him even a little jealous) who would just be typing away on his computer. Then, Remus saw something. He saw what looked like a picture of Virgil on the man's computer. He asked if he could take the photage and look at it on his laptop.The owner quickly agreed.

Upon zooming in on the photage, the twins soon confirmed that it seemed to be a picture of Virgil and the man became a suspect. The twins couldn’t remember if they saw the man in the shop or not, and so went back out to see if they could see him. They couldn’t find him, but Remu did see a figure dash into the alleyway beside the cafe and decided to investigate, leaving Roman to continue to search inside.

Remus walked out into the alleyway. It was empty, he was about to turn around and leave when he felt something press against the back of his head, most likely the barrel of a gun.

“I don’t really blame you for not noticing me sooner, but I just can’t let you continue to try and track me. This is the end of the line, good bye, Remus.”

Remus then heard a loud bang and felt a blow against his head before he dropped to the ground, passing out.

Roman had looked the place up down and center when he finally found something. He found a flash drive wedged between the cushion of a booth, and the wooden frame. He was about to go out to Remus to tell him when he heard a gunshot from the alleyway Remus was in. He ran outside and found Remus laying face down on the concrete of the alley way, unconscious and bleeding from the leg. He immediately called an ambulance, and then his boyfriends, forgetting the flash drive in his pocket momentarily.

Seth honestly felt bad about shooting Remus, but he got over it because he left the flash drive, and if he was caught right then and there, well, he would have a hell of a harder time getting Virgil out and home free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is probably going to be the only chapter coming out this week, sorry. I am going to have to cut down updating to only Fridays from here on out because school is starting and so I am not going to have as much time. I am still going to try to update weekly, and if I can't, I will let you know. I would have had this finished yesterday if I hadn't decided to basically make Virgil go crazy, because mental breakdown causing character change and also isolation to a point really break me down, I cried three times writing the first bit, also, sorry about the vagueness of everything, it do be like that sometimes.
> 
> I love you all very much, thank you for reading, hope you have an amazing day and an incredible week <3


	23. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saturday update brought on by me forgetting the week day again <3
> 
> Tw: hospital, injury, mentions of torture, mentions of animal death, implied non consensual drugging, mentions of knives  
> if i missed anything, please let me know, and also this chapter is a bit intense, if any of this is triggering to you, i would skip virgils and logans perspective, the area that can be more triggering than others will be marked with /// above and below them be safe while reading this

Remus was still out when the paramedics came, but he was alive. Alive and stable. Janus felt a rush of relief when he got to the hospital and learned that he was ok. He felt a bigger rush when he got into the hospital and Remus was awake and talking quietly to Roman.

Patton rushed past Janus into the room, enveloping both of the twins into a hug. They both smiled, Roman kissing Patton on the cheek and Remus kissing him on the forehead. Janus smiled softly at the scene, holding Logan’s hand and standing at the door. Remus smiled and waved them in. They walked in slowly and joined the hug. Everything was perfect. Accept it wasn’t. Something was missing. Someone was missing, and he was waiting for them to save him.

///  
I woke up no longer in my tiny cell. Now I was in what looked to be a tiny hospital room. There was an IV hooked up to my arm. I started trying to struggle, to get the needle out of my arm. It was lucky that I was strapped down then, I guessed, because I failed. I looked around once more before I suddenly felt very sleepy again.

When I woke again, I wasn’t in either room from before, but in the room where they filmed the video, with the camera set up again. This time, Seth wasn’t there.

“Before we start, Virgil, I want to remind you that this is nothing against you, but this is something that needs to be done,” a voice boomed from behind the camera.

I was confused for a moment, they already apologist multiple times for kidnapping, was it about filming me again? Then the camera clicked on and I got my answer.

A guy wearing a mask walked up to where I was tied down and punched me in the gut. I gagged and huffed trying to breathe again as tears fell down my face, but he wasn’t done. He kicked my leg and punched my face. It hurt so bad. After taking a few more hits, I started blacking out, feeling surrounded by pain.

When I came to again, everything still hurt, and I was also covered in cuts. I could hear the voice talking, but really couldn’t make myself look up. I fell in and out of consciousness after that before completely going under. I woke again in the cell, completely alone.

Logan was sitting alone with Remus while everyone else was checking out the flash drive when he got a notification on his phone. An email. An email from a private sender to his personal email.

Logan poked Remus, showing him. Remus suggested that he, you know, open it, and they saw a video. They both felt fear pulse through them as they saw Virgil looking confused at the camera while a masked man approached him before punching him in the gut. Hard. Virgil looked dazed as he tried to catch his breath before being kicked and punched more. 

They watched in horror as their sweet little barista was beaten and tortured. It was clear that Virgil was completely out of it for most of the video, passing out some point before they pulled out the knives. 

After they finished doing a number on Virgil, a voice spoke from behind the camera. “We know you are still looking for us, and your little pet has paid the price. We need you to stop before we do something we _really_ regret.”

Logan stiffly shut off his phone, Remus crying silently into his shoulder as tears fell down his face. He reopened his phone after a moment to text Janus, let them know what he received without them having to experience seeing it themselves.   
///

Patton’s heart broke when they got the news from Logan that Impressora had hurt Virgil to try to throw them off, but he couldn’t stop, they were looking through the flashdrive, and it was helping them make a lot of progress. It had so much information. They were going to get Virgil out of there. 

They just needed a little more time. He wished Logan was there, he probably would have figured things out already, but he was the one who ended staying with Remus. Patton prayed they wouldn’t be too late.

Seth was furious. He was so against kidnapping Virgil in the first place, there was no reason to pull someone so innocent into it. They also had no reason to kill his cat, who, from what he had heard, was a sweet little angel, he had no say in the plans. But what really crossed the line was them hurting Virgil. Torturing Virgil. There was no need for them to hurt someone so innocent.

Seth cursed his family for getting caught up in this organization, but he didn’t really have time for that. He needed to get to Virgil and get Virgil out of there. He hoped, prayed to any god who would listen, that the investigators would be able to find the location from the drive. He made it as easy as possible to find, but he was also required to hide it. He hoped his compromise would work.

Seth made his way down the hallway to Virgil's room when he heard quiet talking. Ducking behind the wall, he listened into what they were saying.

“I heard that Mason was in trouble,” one of the men said, and Seth's breath caught in his throat. Had they already found out that he left the drive behind? That quickly? He prayed not.

“Yeah, we’re supposed to bring him in if we see him,” the other replied. Seth sighed inaudibly. That was going to make things a bit harder for him.

Janus let out a holler of relief. They figured out the code, and all the information they needed to find and save Virgil was right there in front of them. They were going to get Virgil out of there. He just needed to wait a little longer, and he would be free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i know this chapter has a lot of plot holes and makes very little sense, im also sorry for skipping perspectives so much <3<3 i love you guys and thank you for reading


	24. Escape? (unfinished) and a note from me again :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is only half the chapter, i will put out the whole chapter on monday :)

Seth waited quietly while his coworkers passed by him. They didn’t seem to notice him. Sagging in relief, Seth continued down the hallway until he got to Virgil’s door. He used his keycard and prayed that it hadn’t been deactivated yet. Thankfully, it wasn’t, and he was able to open the door, part of the wall sliding open.

Looking in, Seth was hit with a pitiful sight. Virgil was sitting in the corner, tears running down his face and hands covering his ears. Seth quietly walked into the room and went to grab Virgil, but Virgil shoved himself against the wall, refusing to meet Seth’s eyes or cooperate. 

“Get away from me,” Virgil stated with a force that Seth didn’t know he could muster, “just leave, I don’t care what you guys want with me now, just leave me alone.”

“Virgil-” Seth was cut off.

“No! I don’t want to hear another ‘I’m sorry, this isn’t anything against you,’ bullshit, that’s all it is, bullshit, you aren’t sorry, none of you! You couldn’t care less if this was my fault, you couldn’t care less if I only need to be here to get the talls. If you were really sorry, you would have left me and my cat, and my life, alone.”

“Virgil listen, we have to be quiet, but I’m getting us out of here,” Seth said quietly. Virgil looked up at him.

“And why exactly should I believe you?” Seth sighed, shaking his head.

“You don’t have any reason to, but, if you are already here, what reason do we have to trick you?”

“Well, you have stated that this isn’t my fault, and that there was no reason it had to be me, it just did, and if I try to escape, then you will have a reason for it to be me, to torture me. Hmm?”

“Do I really seem like that kind of person?” Seth regretted it as soon as he asked. He was just getting so frustrated.

“And how would I know? It seems that everything I know about you is probably a lie.” Virgil raised his eyebrow at Seth. Seth sighed again.

“Yes, I am aware, we really do need to hurry, so at least have a chance now, or just be stuck here,” Seth gave up reasoning, because they couldn’t have that much time to talk.

Virgil sighed as well. “You know what? Fine,” Virgil said, getting up. Seth grabbed his hand and started running out of the cell, into a rarely used hallway. They only ran for about 2 minutes when the alarm went off. Seth cursed under his breath, pulling Virgil a bit faster.

Virgil was trying to keep up, but he just wasn’t fast enough to keep up, nearly falling every few steps. Seth quickly pulled him into an unused room, knowing it would probably be one of the first places they looked, but also praying to buy them enough time for most to be past enough that he wouldn’t have to fight too many people.

He let Virgil catch his breath for a few moments before he heard voices and running feet. He hid Virgil, telling him firmly to stay put, praying he’d listen and stay out of the way, and avoid anymore trauma from seeing him probably have to kill another human being. The poor man had enough trauma as it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, here's the thing, i actually dont have the time to update on fridays, and will update on either mondays or saturdays, if you have a preference please let me know :) i love you guys, and thank you for being so patient, i appreciate all of you


	25. uhhh so we kinda need to talk about things

....so.... uh, sorry i havent been updating, I have negative levels of motivation

That isn't what this is about though. I want to talk about what happened to Seth, what Patton did, and why I regret writing it. This story was initially supposed to be a light-hearted fluffy thing that was just supposed to be a fun thing to write, in all honesty, I kinda regret everything I wrote after chapter 15, just because I took this in such a different direction than was going to. But, I especially regret what I wrote Patton doing to Seth, or more of, doing that to Seth and trying to keep giving myself reasons for why Patton would get off free for what happened. It was a decision, Seth dying, I always thought it was going to happen, but the way I did it was really,,, wrong, in my head, and making Patton do that and get off for it leaves this unsettling feeling in my head. It isn't right for him to get off for what he did, but also, for a story that was meant to be something light and fun, I think that the whole Virgil getting kidnapped was enough,,, angst and enough heavy stuff for this story, and jail is something I don't want to introduce to this story, so what is going to happen instead is I am backtracking, I am going to rewrite the escape everything that happened after. I apologize if anyone was banking on the way the story was going before, but I feel irresponsible for writing like that. I have deleted all the chapters that include the whole,,, death thing, and will work on reworking the story new ending as much as I can.

ily all so much and hope you have a wonderful day/night/whatever, happy new year


	26. Escape? Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw: violence, idfk yall can tell me if there is a trigger warning you want me to add my brain is slow

His coworkers came into the room, seeing Seth. They didn’t even hesitate to run at him. He was about to dodge out of the way when a _chair came out of nowhere,_ knocking a line of attackers down, and shocking the others. He turned his head for a second, and there, standing in all his stupidity, was Virgil. Virgil lifted another chair, and yeeted it right at the men coming at us.

That shocked Seth back into what was happening. He turned and threw himself at the attackers. 

_**timeskip brought by my inability to write fight scenes** _

__

__

Seth put his knife back onto his belt, and helped Virgil up. They made their way out into the hallway. Rushing quietly, they were surprised by the small amount of people they found on their way to the exit. 

Then questions were answered when they got outside and saw multiple police cars and officers, all with their guns out, and the other workers also with guns out, ready to fire at the police. The pair snuck to a place to hide. 

“We need to go give ourselves up to the police,” Seth said, ready to grab Virgil and run. 

“If they see you with me, they will likely fire, and as much as I don’t trust you, you seem to be the only one willing to help me in this 15 story hell hole, so I don’t really want you dead, and if you get shot, who is gonna stop the others from using me as hostage, and possibly killing me anyways?” Virgil shot back. Seth sighed, knowing Virgil was right. “We can find a way to sneak out and past the police, where we can go to the police station together, and you can turn yourself in _peacefully_ and no one has to die, and I can go home and sleep.” 

“Yeah, ok, sounds like a plan, but do you really want to go back to your home? And, the people at the police station will likely send you to the hospital, so, you probably won't be getting home for at least another few hours,” Seth pointed out. Virgil put on a clearly exaggerated hurt face. 

“You can let a boy dream, can’t you?” Virgil gasped out, and then giggled quietly. Seth smiled too before quietly shushing Virgil. Virgil quieted down and the two scanned for a way out. They found their place in a door used by the groundskeeper on the outer wall of the parking lot, used for easy access to outside the wall. 

They quickly, but quietly and stealthily made their way over to the door and left. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didnt change this chapter much, tbh, but you know, it'll get to the bigger changes later


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: animal death, body horror(? i think idrk), dissociation, and probably something else, if you see anything you want me to add, lmk

Virgil and Seth walked through the quiet town, they didn’t speak, they didn’t have to. The air felt nice, now that Virgil could get the chance to just breathe it in, he didn’t realize how much he missed the fresh air while he was being kept prisoner. He relished in no longer being alone, with Seth and other random people around, no longer being kept in nothing but silence and the screams his head conjured. It was good to feel as free as he did.

Virgil didn’t really pay attention to where they were walking, and then suddenly they were at the police station. Virgil and Seth calmly walked in and over to the desk where they turned themselves in. As predicted, Virgil was taken to the hospital to be checked over, and it was there where he finally met up with the investigators again.

Virgil wasn’t really sure what to do when faced with his friends again after everything they had been through, but let himself be pulled into a hug by the group. He absentmindedly noted the absence of Remus but was too tired to care. The doctors said that nothing was broken and he was free to go home and rest. He was ready to finally go home and sleep in his own bed… right?

The idea of going home, of being alone again made his stomach churn and he felt frozen in place. He could feel the questioning eyes of his friends as he stared at the door. He heard someone sigh and felt a hand being placed on his shoulder.

“Do you want to come home with us? I’m sure being alone right now does not seem very appealing and Remus would probably love to see you,” Janus suggested, giving his shoulder and reassuring squeeze. He felt himself nodding as someone grabbed his hand and he was slowly led towards a car.

The car ride was mostly silent, other than the quiet radio, but Virgil found that he didn’t really mind all that much. He was leaned against Logan as he quietly drifted until they got to a vaguely familiar house, and Virgil felt himself being gently led again, this time into the house.

Most of the conversation at that point was lost to him and he found himself drifting again, he knew that he was laying against Remus and was being held by him, he heard the quiet conversation, but he didn’t really hear or understand it, instead, he stayed in the moment, not really here or there, but somewhere in the middle, a nice place where the world and being held hostage and dead cats didn’t exist, a place where he was alone and all was calm.

Virgil was sitting in his apartment. Strange, he didn’t remember going back there, and his cat was sitting quietly in his lap as he pet her. It was calm, although it was strange to him that @ was not purring. Suddenly, something about it felt wrong, off. He looked down, and he was looking at a dismembered cat instead of his @. He shoved the cat off his lap and tried to stand to get away, but instead found himself being held down, arms reaching out through the floor, wrapping around his body and neck as he struggled to breathe, to call for help, to do anything. Voices surrounded him, muddled, incomprehensible, the arms around him started shaking him, there was laughter coming from somewhere, somewhere else there was someone calling his name, he heard sobs from someone, was it him? He really didn’t know. The shaking grew stronger.

Virgil shot awake, tears streaming down his face as someone grabbed his hand and pulled him into their chest, whispering calm reassurances as he sobbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter, im slowly reintroducing myself to writing again


End file.
